June | 2018 | June Reads Books

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Title: Love Me, Love Me Not
Author: S.M. Koz
Published:June 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Goodreads

Rating: 4 stars
Cover: Like it

Synopsis:

Family, abandonment, and forbidden romance are at the core of SM Koz’s powerful and emotionally charged novel about a teen who falls for her foster brother.

When Hailey Brown is removed from her home and put into foster care, all she wants is a safe, comfortable place where she can finish school and move on with her life. It’s not easy adjusting to a new school and a new life, but Mr. and Mrs. Campbell and their teenage son, Brad, welcome Hailey with open arms.

As Hailey begins to adjust to her new life, she and Brad grow closer. For the first time, Hailey feels like she might have a real shot at a future. Soon, however, Hailey realizes her relationship with Brad has crossed the line from friendship into something more. But being with Brad would mean giving up the perfect life that Hailey has waited so long to have.

Can Hailey and Brad resist the feelings that are developing between them—or will they risk it all to be together?

Chosen by readers like you for Macmillan’s young adult imprint Swoon Reads, SM Koz delivers a powerful debut about the ups and downs of being a foster child.

“Maybe, sometimes, you have no choice but to do things before you’re ready” (chapter 3)

Happy book birthday to Love Me, Love Me Not by S.M. Koz! Thank you Koz, Swoon Reads, and Xpresso Book Tours for giving me an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I read this whole book from start to finish in one day and found myself completely enchanted. A heads up, though, you probably shouldn’t start reading it while you’re serving at your church like I did since the book opens up with a sex scene. Oops.

Koz does a wonderful job of giving a raw look into the ups and downs of foster care, which I think is completely necessary for people to grow in empathy. Hailey has had a rough life, living with a mother who is a drug addict who has made choices that have hurt Hailey emotionally and physically. She gets put into the foster care system as a senior in high school, so she has to go through the changes this entails knowing that she will be aging out soon and will have to go through more changes. Not only is this a difficult concept to wrestle with, but Hailey also has trouble trusting the multiple families she gets placed with because she doesn’t want people pitying her or elevating themselves in their views of her. My heart ached to watch Hailey struggle with who she is because of her past and who she could become because of her future.

Brad, Hailey’s foster brother, is honestly a dream. He’s a buff football star with the most empathetic heart. He refuses to let Hailey view herself as someone stuck in her past and choses to help her move forward by remembering the good memories. I could definitely see him being a Hufflepuff with his loyalty, kindness, and dedication. Maybe that’s why I liked him so much.

In the midst of Hailey’s chaotic changes, she discovers that her friendship with Brad is growing beyond appropriate boundaries. Their relationship moves into the forbidden, which is a trope that I’ve learned is popular, but it isn’t so rule breaking that I lost interest. Brad’s care for Hailey in learning about her without pushing her trust too hard is heart melting and I found myself rooting for ways they could make their relationship work without getting Hailey kicked out of the first stable home she’s ever been in. Hailey’s character growth and the Campbell’s demonstrations of their love for her will completely enchant you from start to finish.

Purchase Links:

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

S.M. Koz is a medical writer from North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, two sons, and numerous pets. She has a BS in Biology from Duke University and a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from North Carolina State University. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys reading, photographing nature and her family, gardening, travelling, and attempting, usually unsuccessfully, to decorate birthday cakes. Love Me, Love Me Not is her first traditionally published novel.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway Details:

Print copy of Love Me, Love Me Not (US/CAN)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Title: Just One of the Royals (The Chicago Falcons #2)
Author: Leah Rooper and Kate Rooper
Published: June 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads

Rating: 3 stars
Cover: It’s okay

unnamed

Synopsis:

Star hockey player Daniel Sacachelli wants only two things: 1) for the Falcons
to win next season, and 2) for his secret — the fact he’s actually the prince of Eldonia — to never make its way to Chicago. But if Daniel keeps avoiding his crown, their family will lose their kingdom forever.

Madison Myong can’t believe that her will-they-or-won’t-they best friend Daniel is
really a prince! He’s always seemed more rebel than royal. But now, he needs to clean up his image, fast. Posing as his long-time girlfriend, Madison accompanies him back to Eldonia, intending to give Daniel a makeover fit for a king.

Only, the more royal Daniel becomes, the more Madison misses her best friend. And if she does her job right, she’ll lose him forever…

“But I know that in order to pull this off, I’m going to have to let go of every real thing about me. I’ll have to become someone else, someone new, someone…royal” (chapter 6).

Happy book birthday to the second book in the Chicago Falcons series, Just One of the Royals by Leah and Kate Rooper! Thank you to the Rooper sisters, Entangled Teen, and Chapter by Chapter for my eARC of the book in exchange for an honest review. While I have not read the first book in the series, these books are actually just different stories about different people on this hockey team, so there isn’t a ton of build up missing by jumping into the second book, and the reoccurring characters are reintroduced.

This book felt very much like The Princess Diaries vibes: Daniel is a prince who grew up living a normal life in Chicago. He needs to be whipped into shape and lose his bad image in order to take the throne of a small European country after the death of his father. The biggest difference is that he brings along his best friend and secret crush, Madison, to play the role of his girlfriend in order to improve his image. Boy, do things get messy there!

Madison’s goal in life is to be a big time movie star, so when she is offered the role of a lifetime, and the opportunity for her big break if she succeeds, there’s no way she’d turn it down! Especially when it means more time with her best friend. But with so much acting going on by both Daniel and Madison, how is anyone supposed to tell what’s real and genuine, and what’s not? Are the people they strive to portray taking them away from the people they really are?

Just like Mia Thermopolis, while learning about this country he is being asked to rule, Daniel learns about the people, the culture, and begins to love everything about it. He starts to take a genuine interest in the people around him, which is honestly one of the biggest character growth scenarios he goes through. It’s no longer about what he wants when he wants it, but about how the people around him are affected.

The playboy who gets serious about one girl trope seems to be super common in YA contemporary books lately. It didn’t really feel necessary to this plot–there are plenty of other ways Daniel can be selfish and unfit for the throne. From this aspect, there doesn’t seem to be much creative liberty and I was wishing for more depth to Daniel.

Purchase Links:

Amazon | Amazon Australia | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

About the Author

leah_and_kate_rooper Leah and Kate Rooper are sisters from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Growing up beside the Pacific Ocean and inside a temperate rainforest fed their sense of adventure as children, and nourished a curiosity for strange and distant lands. They fed this curiosity with books – lots and lots of books. After experiencing the magic of Middle-earth, they began creating their own worlds. When they’re not writing, Leah and Kate spend their time blogging and vlogging about their travel adventures and their writing journey.