Tan Lines by Katherine Applegate

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Number of pages: 539
Out of the three books that I've read in the "Summer" series I think I like this one second best. The first book in the series, Beach Blondes, was definitely the most light hearted and was just a fun novel to read (with a whopping 700 pages!). Spring Break had too many issues that I didn't think we're believable (see my last review for more on that). But this one, it was good. Not great but good. It had that light hearted feel, but also delved deeper into the characters problems which was really nice. We were finally able to see some of the darker and more cynical sides of the characters, which was kind of relieving since in Beach Blondes they all seemed sort of picture perfect. Well, maybe not ALL of them...
Anyways, Summer is back in Florida for the summer and she has found an apartment with her cousin/friend Diana and her other friend Marquez. Summer hopes once again to rekindle her romance with Seth but he's all the way in California for an internship, and Austin, the guy she met over spring break is conveniently working just downstairs. Marquez is dealing with some guy issues of her own, but more importantly is dealing with some weight loss issues and her friends are constantly telling her to take care of herself and to stop losing so much weight so quickly, but in a typical Marquez fashion she doesn't listen. Good old Marquez, I wish more people were more headstrong like her. She's definitely one of the best characters in the book. If there was a spin-off series with her as the main character I think I'd like it even better than the "Summer" novels. Diana is her typical moody self, brooding when alone and being mysterious whilst in public.
There is one more book after this one in the series but I actually could see how this would be a good conclusion. The plot lines were worked out well and tied up quite nicely (although at times I felt it was tied up TOO quickly and nicely). I definitely can't wait to start reading the next one Sun-Kissed Christmas. The synopsis sounds like another crazy break from school for Summer. 
You know, on the outside she seems like the perfect character but when you really think about it, she goes through a lot with emotional family turmoil, trying to keep her friends from tearing each other's throats out, and dealing with the many boys in her life who "love" her (I put love in quotes there because I feel like all the characters throw the word around a little too loosely). 
Overall, a great ending to a few plot lines but I definitely can't wait to finish the series. After all the problems I had with Spring Break this was definitely a better follow up book and put my faith back into the series.
See you soon!
Paige

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Remember Me Omnibus: Remember Me, The Return, and The Last Story by Christopher Pike

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Number of pages: 789
Seeing as this is an omnibus of three stories, I will give a general plot of the first one and then talk about what I did and didn't like.
In Remember Me, Shari Cooper is a teenager in high school and for the first half of Remember Me recounts the events leading up to her death. (Going to a party and at the party attempting to contact the dead with 5 or 6 other friends. At the party she becomes upset with what she hears from the "realm beyond" and goes out to stand on a balcony where she finds herself plummeting to her death)
Once Shari "wakes up" she follows around different members of her family to discover what really happened to her. She has a hard time accepting the fact that she was dead and she learns that everyone in her town thinks that she committed suicide. Shari knows that she did not and goes on an adventure to avenge her death and find out who really killed her.
I liked the first book Remember Me, I thought it had plenty of action, even if it was a little slow at times. It was also an original plot that I thought was almost believable in a sort of supernatural sort of way. However, after finishing Remember Me and starting the second book The Return, I immediately thought that the story was being extended, way to far already. Then, I started The Last Story and realized that this whole omnibus should have been made into just one story. It kept going on and on, and most of the time I kept thinking "When is this going to be over??". (This is why it took me so long to put a review up; the story was just boring! However, I wanted to finish it because of course, I wanted to know how it ended and I figured I came this far I might as well finish)
Maybe my expectations were a little high (I thought this would be more like the Night World series by L.J.Smith) but it was just far to long! The books also had large paragraphs about more biblical and spiritual topics that I honestly skipped over because I felt they were unnecessary for the story.
I wish I could have liked this story more, but it just was too long and too...boring. The first story is great and if you don't feel like reading an entire trilogy then I would say only read that one, otherwise, you're in for the long haul.
Now that I think about it, it almost seems as if the author was pressured to write another two stories to make more money. (This is only a guess, I have no idea if that's true!!) I gave this a two out of five stars on Goodreads, but I would say at least check out the first book.
See you soon!
Paige

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Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

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Number of pages: 352
Okay, I liked this book....I just didn't love it. And I wanted too! I love Christmas and it's my favorite holiday, but these three books kinda fell flat for me. I know summer's around the corner and I'm reading a Christmas book, and I liked that this had a lot of the Christmas feeling in it, but the stories themselves? Eh...
The stories didn't seem to have a lot of development. I wished they could have been made a little longer so that more could happen. I also felt that in each book it was drawn out to the last possible second, and then completely rushed together at the very end. Although I did like how all three were somehow semi-connected which I did not realize when I started.
They were cute stories, and I'll probably read this again during Winter Break sometime, but it wouldn't be the first Christmas book I'd go for. I think they would have been better as a series where all three co-wrote the books because I really think the books were extremely limited. A lot more could have happened!
Also, I dont' want to say too much about the books' plots since they do sort of cross over to one and other, especially the last one.
I would recommend this, and I gave it four stars on Goodreads but I definitely felt it could have been a lot better and maybe with more effort? I love all three of these authors so it seemed sort of a let-down to have such a mediocre book, but that's just my opinion! Check it out for yourself and see what you think!
See you soon!
Paige

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Witch Season 2: Winter and Spring by Jeff Mariotte

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Number of pages: 584
Finally I finished this series! It was a good series but I'm not sure if I'd recommend it to someone. The last two books had the same exact writing style of the first two (obviously) but I felt that these last two books moved a little faster. There was more action and more occurrences between Mother Blessing, Kerry, and Season.
I love how we got to know some characters a lot more and it was cool to see how Kerry grew and developed as a witch. Overall, as a series thought it kind of fell flat for me.
I'm not exactly sure why, like I said there was lot's of action but there was just something missing. Maybe that was just me (read it and find out for yourself!)
It was a good series, I just didn't fall totally in love with it like I thought I would. Out of the whole series I liked the first one the best.
I don't want to say much more about this book because I don't want to give anything away, but overall, I felt that it was a really good conclusion to the series and it tied up all loose ends and didn't leave any open ended questions.
Try this series out for yourself!
See you soon!
Paige

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Witch Season: Summer and Fall by Jeff Mariotte

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Number of pages: 593
This book (as you can see above) was REALLY long!! It is a big hunk of a book! It is a omnibus and has the first two books (Summer and Fall) of the Witch Season series inside. These two books were also pretty good! I was expecting a story kind of like the L.J.Smith omnibuses but it wasn't like that at all! Jeff Mariotte's writing is pretty distinct and has a lot of descriptors. I can totally imagine the scenery in these books, but he doesn't describe the characters really well. I don't connect to a majority of them because he didn't give too much of a background on them.
Summer starts out with a group of 6 kids living in a house together in La Jolla, CA and then a mysterious stranger lands on their doorstep half dead and the central character of the story, Kerry, decides to take him in and nurse him back to health. Eventually he leaves once he's better but he does come back and the group finds out that he is a witch and is battling an evil with, Season, and she happens to be in La Jolla as well. The first book is basically a hunt looking for Season and then the second book Fall describes the aftermath of Season and Daniel's epic battle which occurs at the end of Summer.
I really liked the books, but sometimes they was just too many words and they could have been cut back on a tad. I also didn't like some of the characters attitudes after the battle. (I don't want to say too much on that, because I don't want to give anything away) Also, there was a lot of grammar, spelling, and pretty much just common errors in the book (Bad editing on the editors part!!).
Would I recommend this to a friend? Probably not but it was a good book to pick up and flow through fairly quickly. There is another omnibus that follows this one and I will be reading/reviewing that one too.
See you soon!
Paige

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