Review: Check, Please!: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu

Rating: 3 stars

Release Date: September 18, 2018

Publisher: First Second

Genre: young adult contemporary graphic novel

Format/Source: ARC, from the publisher

Status: book 1 of the Check, Please! series

Summary:

Helloooo, Internet Land. Bitty here!

Y’all... I might not be ready for this. I may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It’s nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! First of all? There’s checking. And then, there is Jack—our very attractive but moody captain.


A collection of the first half of the megapopular webcomic series of the same name, Check, Please!: #Hockey is the first book of a hilarious and stirring two-volume coming-of-age story about hockey, bros, and trying to find yourself during the best four years of your life.

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. This does not affect the content of my review.

Tour Recap + Review: Wildcard by Marie Lu

Rating: 5 stars

Release Date: September 18, 2018

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Genre: young adult science fiction

Format/Source: ARC, ALA annual conference

Status: book 2 of the Warcross duology
Links: Warcross review

Summary:

Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.

Determined to put a stop to Hideo's grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn't all that he seems--and his protection comes at a price.


Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?

Blog Tour: Romance Review: Strong by Kylie Scott: Muscley men with tiny swearing children. What more can you ask for?

Rating: 3 stars

Release Date: September 25, 2018

Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Inc

Genre: adult contemporary romance

Format/Source: DRC, from the publisher

Status: Book 4.5 of the Stage Dive companion series
Links: Wait For You review (also 4 stars)

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of the blog tour. This does not affect the content of my review.

Summary:

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kylie Scott comes a new story in her Stage Dive series…

When the girl of your dreams is kind of a nightmare.

As head of security to Stage Dive, one of the biggest rock bands in the world, Sam Knowles has plenty of experience dealing with trouble. But spoilt brat Martha Nicholson just might be the worst thing he’s ever encountered. The beautiful troublemaker claims to have reformed, but Sam knows better than to think with what’s in his pants. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to make his heart fall into line.

Martha’s had her sights on the seriously built bodyguard for years. Quiet and conservative, he’s not even remotely her type. So why the hell can’t she get him out of her mind? There’s more to her than the Louboutin wearing party-girl of previous years, however. Maybe it’s time to let him in on that fact and deal with this thing between them.

Review: Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Rating: 5 stars

Release Date: June 5, 2018

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre: young adult contemporary

Format/Source: DRC, Edelweiss

Status: standalone

Summary:

Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait—for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster—all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.

The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster.

There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.

There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo.

Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephew is unexpectedly, distractingly…cute.

Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.

Review + Giveaway: Intercepted by Alexa Martin

This week I'm doing a fun pseudo-tour with some of my friends from our fantasy football group for Alexa Martin's debut romance Intercepted. Because of our great love for football, Berkley sent us copies of the book so we buddy read it! Scroll down to read my review, check out the other ladies' links, and enter to win a copy of Intercepted!

Rating: 3 stars

Release Date: September 11, 2018

Publisher: Berkley

Genre: adult sports romance

Format/Source: paperback, from the publisher

Status: book 1 of the Playbook series

Summary:

Marlee thought she scored the man of her dreams only to be scorched by a bad breakup. But there's a new player on the horizon, and he's in a league of his own...

Marlee Harper is the perfect girlfriend. She's definitely had enough practice by dating her NFL-star boyfriend for the last ten years. But when she discovers he has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. There's just one problem: Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights.

Gavin fights to show Marlee he's nothing like her ex. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to let her escape her past. The team's wives, who never led the welcome wagon, are not happy with Marlee's return. They have only one thing on their minds: taking her down. But when the gossip makes Marlee public enemy number one, she worries about more than just her reputation.

Between their own fumbles and the wicked wives, it will take a Hail Mary for Marlee and Gavin's relationship to survive the season.

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. This does not affect the content of my review.

Listmania Monday: Geeks, Nerds & Fandoms, oh my!

In 2018, it is no longer an insult to be a nerd or a geek. Nerds have gotten their revenge, geeks are chic, and being fully into fandoms, attending conventions, cosplaying characters, playing D&D, and creating fanfic and fanart is fully in. So today I'm going to share all the YA books that celebrate geeks, nerds, and fan culture!


Note: I am including some books about music fandom.

Adorakable - Sarra Manning
Adorkable - Cookie O'Gorman
All of This is True - Lygia Day Penaflor
All the Feels - Danika Stone
Analee, In Real Life - Janelle Milanes
Art Geeks & Prom Queens - Alyson Noel
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl series - Barry Lyga

Band Geek duology - Josie Bloss
Between Us and the Moon - Rebecca Maizal
Bookish Boyfriends - Tiffany Schmidt

Bookishly Ever After - Isabel Bandeira
The Boomerang Effect - Gordon Jack

Camp Boyfriend - J.K. Rock
Chaotic Good - Whitney Gardner
Close Encounters of the Geek Kind duology - Andy Robb
Comics Will Break Your Heart - Faith Erin Hicks
Cure for the Common Universe - Christian McKay Heidicker

Darius the Great is Not Okay - Adib Khorram
Don't Cosplay with My Heart - Cecil Castellucci
Draw the Line - Laurent Linn

Eliza and her Monsters - Francesca Zappia

#famous - Gagnon
Fan Art - Sarah Tregay
Fan the Fame - Anna Priemaza (2019)
The Fandom - Anna Day
Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
The Fangirl Life: A Guide to All the Feels and Learning How to Deal - Kathleen Smith
The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy - Sam Maggs
Final Draft - Riley Redgate
Follow Me Back series - A.V. Geiger

Gamer Girl - Mari Mancusi
Geek Charming - Robin Palmer
Geek Girl series - Holly Smale
The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading - Charity Tahmaseb & Darcy Vance
Geek High series - Piper Banks
Geek Magnet - Kieran Scott
Geekerella duology - Ashley Poston (2019)
The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Loves - Sarvenaz Tash
Geektastic - Holly Black & Cecil Castellucci
Gena/Finn - Hannah Moskowitz
Girls Like Me - Lola St. Vil
Going Geek - Charlotte Huang
Grace and the Fever - Zan Romanoff
Guy in Real Life - Steve Brezenoff

Hattie Moore duology - Rae Earl
Hero - Perry Moore
How To series - Cassie Mae

I Am Princess X - Cherie Priest
I Hate Everyone But You - Gaby Dunn & Allison Raskin
I Kissed Alice - Anna Birch (2020)
The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak - Brian Katcher
In Real Life - Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang
In Real Life - Lawrence Tabak
Internet Famous - Danika Stone
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder - Julie Halpern

Kat and Meg Conquer the World - Anna Priemaza
Kill the Boy Band - Goldie Moldavsky
King Dork series - Frank Portman

Life in Outer Space - Melissa Keil
Looking For Group - Rory Harrison

Mechanical Hearts series - J.C. Lillis
Meg & Linus - Hannah Nowinski
The Museum of Heartbreak - Meg Leder
My Faire Lady - Laura Wettersten

Nerd series - Leah Rae Miller
The Nerd Girls duology - Alan Sitomer
The Nerdy and the Dirty - B.T. Gottfred
Now a Major Motion Picture - Cori McCarthy

The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You - Lily Anderson

Pilgrims duology - Stephanie Kate Strohm
Playing Defense - Cate Cameron
Popular: Vintage Wisdom for the Modern Geek - Maya Van Wagenen
The Pros of Cons - Alison Cherry, Lindsay Ribar & Michelle Schusterman
Pwned - Shannon Crane Camp

The Queen Geek Social Club series - Laura Preble
Queens of Geek - Jen Wilde

The Replacement Crush - Lisa Brown Roberts
The Rest of Us Just Live Here - Patrick Ness

Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here - Anna Breslaw
Ship It - Britta Lundin
Shuffle, Repeat - Jen Klein
Signs Point to Yes - Sandy Hall
Smart Girls Get What They Want - Sarah Strohmeyer
Solving for Ex duology - LeighAnn Hopkins
The Square Root of Summer - Harriet Reuter Hapgood
Stranger Than Fanfiction - Chris Colfer

Tash Hearts Tolstoy - Kathryn Ormsbee
The Theory of Everything - Kari Luna

Unconventional - Maggie Harcourt
The Unforgettables - G.L. Thomas

What Happens Now - Jennifer Castle
When Dimple Met Rishi - Sandhya Menon
Who's That Girl - Blair Thornburgh

PS I'm not including Carry On on this list because IT IS NOT ABOUT FANDOM. Fangirl is about fandom. Carry On is a straight up fantasy novel. FIGHT ME.

Blog Tour: Unclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll

Rating: 4.5 stars

Release Date: September 18, 2018

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Genre: young adult contemporary romance

Format/Source: ARC, from the publisher

Status: standalone
Links: check out my 4.5 star Unclaimed Baggage review!

Summary:

Doris--a lone liberal in a conservative small town--has mostly kept to herself since the terrible waterslide incident a few years ago. Nell had to leave behind her best friends, perfect life, and too-good-to-be-true boyfriend in Chicago to move to Alabama. Grant was the star quarterback and epitome of "Mr. Popular" whose drinking problem has all but destroyed his life. What do these three have in common? A summer job working in a store called Unclaimed Baggage cataloging and selling other people's lost luggage. Together they find that through friendship, they can unpack some of their own emotional baggage and move on into the future.