Late to the Party by. Kelly Quindlen | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: Late to the Party

Author: Kelly Quindlen

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 304

Publication Date: 4/20/20

Publisher: Roaring Book Press

Categories: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Friendship, Coming of Age

Seventeen is nothing like Codi Teller imagined.

She’s never crashed a party, never stayed out too late. She’s never even been kissed. And it’s not just because she’s gay. It’s because she and her two best friends, Maritza and JaKory, spend more time in her basement watching Netflix than engaging with the outside world.

So when Maritza and JaKory suggest crashing a party, Codi is highly skeptical. Those parties aren’t for kids like them. They’re for cool kids. Straight kids.

But then Codi stumbles upon one of those cool kids, Ricky, kissing another boy in the dark, and an unexpected friendship is formed. In return for never talking about that kiss, Ricky takes Codi under his wing and draws her into a wild summer filled with late nights, new experiences, and one really cute girl named Lydia.

The only problem? Codi never tells Maritza or JaKory about any of it.

From author Kelly Quindlen comes a poignant and deeply relatable story about friendship, self-acceptance, what it means to be a Real Teenager. Late to the Party is an ode to late bloomers and wallflowers everywhere.

Late to the Party is about Codi who is tired of feeling “boxed in” her life and mostly by her friends. She’s had the same best friends, Maritza and JaKory for years and here they are, the summer before Senior year and they want to live a little. Her best friends want to be kissed, want to date someone or at least to know what it feels like to do any of those things. Codi wants it too but she doesn’t know how to go about changing her life until she runs into Ricky. He’s a year older, lives in her neighborhood and he doesn’t know if he is gay or not. Codi and Ricky bond together and it becomes a summer of changes – in ways unexpected.

Codi is a teenager, wanting a different kind of life, outside of what her best friends perceive her to be and I definitely went through that as a teenager. How do you know who you are if you are always with the same people? Especially if you don’t feel like who they think you are is not how you feel you are inside. So this story is about growing and Codi goes through a lot of it especially with her new friendship with Ricky.

Ricky is a great mirror for Codi, I adore him. He tells her things straight up and coming from a “stranger” who is a new friend and not her old friends, it’s a new voice telling her what she needs to hear. He shows her she can have fun and not be on the outside looking in all the time.

Codi and Lydia’s budding relationship is sweet and occurs naturally without too much drama which was nice to see. There is a lot of queer relationships in this book which was lovely. I also liked how Ricky wasn’t sure if he only liked guys or girls and guys – his confusion and anxiety and talking about everything with Codi was a breakthrough moment in their friendship.

Triggers: drinking alcohol

I didn’t quite connect to Codi, even though I could relate to her feelings of feeling trapped in a persona she wasn’t sure was truly herself. I just didn’t understand how she could ghost her best friends most of the summer and lie about hanging with Ricky and his friends. There were parts of her that seemed selfish but that was her point actually, she wanted something to be selfish about but it affected her relationship with her best friends and even her younger brother.

Why you should read it:

f/f and m/m relationships
nostalgia of those awkward teen years
very quick read

Why you might not want to read it:

nostalgia of those awkward teen years (lol)

My Thoughts:

This was a very quick read with a lot of queer representation and teens being teens – awkward, insecure, finding their way as they should be. Codi make mistakes and tries to fix said mistakes. Overall, it was an enjoyable story despite me not connecting to the main character as much as I would have liked.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Take Me Home Tonight | ARC Review

My Rating: 3/5 Stars

Title: Take Me Home Tonight

Author: Morgan Matson

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368

Publication Date: 5/4/21

Publisher: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Teen Readers, Friendship, Family, Romance, Coming of Age, Contemporary

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

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off meets Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist in this romp through the city that never sleeps from the New York Times bestselling author of Since You’ve Been Gone, Morgan Matson.

Two girls. One night. Zero phones.

Kat and Stevie—best friends, theater kids, polar opposites—have snuck away from the suburbs to spend a night in New York City. They have it all planned out. They’ll see a play, eat at the city’s hottest restaurant, and have the best. Night. Ever. What could go wrong?

Well. Kind of a lot?

They’re barely off the train before they’re dealing with destroyed phones, family drama, and unexpected Pomeranians. Over the next few hours, they’ll have to grapple with old flames, terrible theater, and unhelpful cab drivers. But there are also cute boys to kiss, parties to crash, dry cleaning to deliver (don’t ask), and the world’s best museum to explore.

Over the course of a wild night in the city that never sleeps, both Kat and Stevie will get a wake-up call about their friendship, their choices…and finally discover what they really want for their future.

That is, assuming they can make it to Grand Central before the clock strikes midnight.

The title ALWAYS makes me sing that 80’s song, “Take me home tonight, I don’t want let you go till you see the light…” – it’s such a good song and reminds me of my childhood! Such a fun title!
Everything happens in one night in NYC of all places which is always a good time, right? It’s such an exciting city, so I loved the setting. It’s the perfect place for nightly shenanigans.
I did enjoy Kat and Stevie’s friendship. At the start you just know they are tight, and they do get separated during their wild night in NYC but it helped them deal with their own issues for a few hours before meeting up. I like their separate emotional journeys and when they come back together, they are better for it.
Kat has a cute little romantic encounter, but I loved Stevie’s interactions with her family even more. We get to meet her step-siblings and watch her deal with family issues, I thought it brought the emotional feels in the story.

I appreciate the whole Adventures in Babysitting references with Teri’s storyline but I mostly skipped it. It didn’t work for me because I was more interested in Kat and Stevie’s adventure and it really went off in a whole direction with Teri. In the end I thought it was sorta funny and cute but during the story, it would take me out of the story.
This would make an entertaining movie.
More suited towards teen readers.

This story is about one wild night in New York City shared between two best friends who have a falling out along the way but find their way back to one another. There is Teri’s storyline who is on an Adventures of Babysitting kick and it’s funny in the end but unfortunately took me out of the story multiple times. I think teen readers will enjoy this one and relate to Kat and Stevie’s personalities and friendship.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Mini Book Reviews: The Culling Trials (Shadowspell Academy) Book Series

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: The Culling Trials (Shadowspell Academy 1-3)

Authors: K.F. Breene & Shannon Mayer

Format: eBook (borrowed)

Pages: Book 1 – 238 ; Book 2 – 242 ; Book 3 – 186

Categories: Young Adult, Adventure, Trials, Magic, Supernatural, Friendship, Cliff Hanger Endings

Book 1 Blurb:

You Don’t Choose The Academy. The Academy Chooses You.

I had no idea how those words would change my life. Or how they’d changed my life already…

Until the day the most dangerous man I’ve ever met waltzed onto my farm and left us a death sentence.

In an invitation.

My younger brother has been chosen for the prestigious, secret magical school hidden within the folds of our mundane world. A place so dangerous, they don’t guarantee you’ll make it out alive.

If he doesn’t go our entire family will be killed.

It’s the same invitation my older brother received three years ago—the same place he mysteriously died.

The academy has already killed one sibling. I’ll be damned if they take another.

I do the only thing an older sister can: chop off my hair, strap on two bras to flatten the girls, and take my brother’s place.

Magic and monsters are real. Assassins are coming for me, and the dead are prone to rise. What’s a girl faking it as a boy supposed to do? That’s right—beat the academy at its own game.

Or die trying.

MY REVIEW

The first book of The Culling Trials we are introduced to Wild. She works on a ranch, looks like a boy and takes her younger brother’s place in The Culling Trials. Of course she doesn’t know anything about supernatural creatures and magic – her parents didn’t tell her about it and she gets thrown into the trials, lacking in knowledge. But she makes up for it with strength, confidence and instincts. I love Wild, she’s badass and doesn’t take b.s. but she’s a nice person too.

In book one she meets other supernaturals, learns about the Houses: Shade, Wonder, Unmentionables, Night, and Claw. The Culling trials is a test to see who will be chosen for each houses.

The book is fast paced, short and ends with a cliff-hanger. It is filled with lots of action. Her unusual team needs to pass each trial for each of the houses. But something isn’t right and it all points to Wild. She’s undercover as a boy to protect her family, and she’s learning she has powers she never knew she had. She seems to be a target, but who is targeting her? Wild needs to find out before something drastic happens. I enjoyed this first book as it sets up us for more action in book two.

Book 2 Blurb:

Being accepted into an elite school of magic, monsters, and assassins was not my idea of higher education. But here I am, fighting my way through the Culling Trials to claim my right to be taught.

As if the gauntlet-type physical and mental tests aren’t enough, people are going missing.

People that are my friends.

In a dangerous world where no one is as they seem, the golden rule is simple: Trust no one. They think we should just look out for ourselves. That we should leave the fallen behind and ask no questions.

They clearly think we’re idiots. I got this far by trusting my instincts, and I’m not going to back down now.

Those kids won’t be left to die.

Not on my watch.

MY REVIEW

The action never ends in this second book! I love Wild’s team, made up of kids with different powers. It’s not usual to have a mix in a team, but Wild is a natural leader and seems to have an affinity for each house. She brings out the strength of each teammate and even if some annoy her, she still manages to get along with them somehow.

There is no real romance in this series yet, there is a hint of something and some flirtation, but that’s all and I’m totally okay with it! I like Wild and her blooming friendship with her teammates. But someone is trying to take her out of the trials. Who can she trust? The trials are getting harder, will her team survive? Also, there are kids going missing, one of them is her goblin teammate and she’s on a mission to figure out what’s happening to them.

This is another fast-paced book in the series. It’s a quick read and so enjoyable. I’m glad the cliffhanger endings don’t leave you waiting for too long between the books. I think the books could’ve been combined to make it a duology instead of a trilogy. On to the next book!

Book 3 Blurb:

The last of the Culling Trials is here. I foolishly thought I’d survived the worst.

My team is falling to pieces around me and my heart is shattered for the losses I’ve endured. But I can’t stop when I’m so close to the end. There are too many people depending on me.

I foolishly thought there wasn’t much more I could lose…until the nature of my bloodline comes to light.

I’m not what I thought I was. Not what anyone thought I was.
But to tell people the truth would be to kill us all.

To fail the trials will mean death, but to succeed might damn me for life.

MY REVIEW

This final book is shorter than the other books but once more we see Wild and her team surviving the worse of the trials. Also, her gender has been revealed and she still hasn’t been kicked out for lying, which is a good thing, right? Wild is such a rule breaker, she’s a fun character and loyal. This last book puts Wild through her toughest trial yet and she’s not about to let anyone die on her watch.

Even thought it’s the last book it left some things open, maybe for another series? I’m still curious about a few things, like the Sandman’s history, the Shadowkiller and Rory. I feel like even though the series came to an end, there is more to cover with those characters and I hope these authors come back and start another series.

This was a super-fun series if you like Academy trope books (I’m a bit addicted to them). It doesn’t have romance, just minor flirtation but so much action and some awesome friendship bonds that I hope we get to experience again soon!