Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg

Synopsis from Goodreads.com: A hilarious new novel from Elizabeth Eulberg about taking the wall out of the wallflower so she can bloom.

Don't mess with a girl with a Great Personality.

Everybody loves Lexi. She's popular, smart, funny...but she's never been one of those girls, the pretty ones who get all the attention from guys. And on top of that, her seven-year-old sister, Mackenzie, is a terror in a tiara, and part of a pageant scene where she gets praised for her beauty (with the help of fake hair and tons of makeup).

Lexi's sick of it. She's sick of being the girl who hears about kisses instead of getting them. She's sick of being ignored by her longtime crush, Logan. She's sick of being taken for granted by her pageant-obsessed mom. And she's sick of having all her family's money wasted on a phony pursuit of perfection.

The time has come for Lexi to step out from the sidelines. Girls without great personalities aren't going to know what hit them. Because Lexi's going to play the beauty game - and she's in it to win it.

Number of pages: 261

Release Date: March 1st, 2013

My review: I finished this book in only one day because it was THAT fantastic! The first book I read from Elizabeth Eulburg was Prom and Prejudice and I gave a raving review of that book so when I heard that she was releasing another book, I just had to get my hands on it! So, as you can imagine, the day that Netgalley informed me that my request had been approved to read it, I was ecstatic! 

Anyways, the synopsis does a pretty good job of summing up the story, but once you start reading you realize it has so much more depth than it lets on. Lexi is one of those characters I instantly took a liking to because she knew exactly what she wanted in life, she tried not to take anyone's crap, and she had two of the coolest friends, Cam and Benny, I have ever had the pleasure of meeting in a book.

I really appreciated how as the story progressed she was able to stand up for herself, and this caused her to be a really wonderful (and NOT weak) central female character. I just hate when female characters seem to depend too much on boys or don't have a single thought of their own.

The friendship between Cam, Benny, and Lexi was hilarious and I actually felt a deep connection with them. Their friendship sort of reminded me of the kids from that old TeenNick show "Unfabulous". (Click the picture here to see what I'm talking about) Also, their friendship lasted through the book, it wasn't one of those friendships where the main girl abandoned them after she found a guy, or something. Cam was always saying hilarious statements and even though they were funny they also had a deep sense of truth in them. 

I loved to see the development Lexi went through regarding her family issues, her sister Mac's pageant fiascoes  her friendship, and the way she discovered how important image is to people. This book was on my top books of 2013 that I wanted to read and I'm glad I was able to read it because it was so refreshing and an absolute page turner! (No pun intended) I would definitely recommend you checking it out!

See you soon!

Paige

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Songbird by Syrie James

Synopsis from Goodreads.com: When Southern California radio deejay Desiree Germain hosts a contest on the air, she is immediately taken by the smooth, deeply masculine voice of caller number twelve, Kyle Harrison. Later that afternoon, the man behind the voice walks into her studio, and Desiree is instantly smitten. 

Kyle Harrison is not only devastatingly handsome, he is a brilliant, extremely wealthy entrepreneur from Seattle who is used to getting what he wants. Desiree can't help her attraction to Kyle—and if the intense way he looks at her and keeps delaying his flight back to Seattle is any indication, it seems her feelings are more than reciprocated. 

They embark on a thrilling, passionate love affair that plays havoc with the life Desiree has struggled so hard to carefully control. With a divorce under her belt and her career finally going places, she is concerned that their whirlwind romance is doomed to long-distance failure.



It might take a Maserati, dozens of red roses, and a lot of airplane tickets, but Kyle is determined to sweep Desiree off her feet and claim her as his own—forever. Can Kyle convince Desiree to risk her heart and her career for love? 

Sexy, witty, tender, and deeply poignant, Songbird is a page-turning tale that will ignite your senses and bring a smile to your heart. 

Number of pages: 236
My review: I have read three of Syrie James' other books and I have loved all of them, and this being the fourth it was just as good! When I was contacted to read and review this book I was ecstatic because I can always rely on Syrie James' works to be a breath of fresh air, so to speak, in the reading sphere. She writes flawlessly and clearly and it doesn't seem fake or overdone at all. Her words roll right off the page and causes you to finish her novels quickly not only because the plots are so good, but because the writing itself is an excellent piece of art too.
And Syrie James has lived up to my expectations once I again! I flew through Songbird! It was amazing on all sorts of levels; there was really good plot and character development, so you actually felt for the characters instead of just lazing along wondering what would happen to them. The setting was believable (extremely believable for me since I have been to/live around the Southern California area and I have been to Seattle as well). However, for people who hadn't been to either area, Syrie James did a good job of describing what each setting looked like including all the sights, sounds, and hustle and bustle of each city.
The romance between Kyle and Desiree sometimes became a little too unbelievable for me (they fell in love after only 3 weeks? Seems a tad fast) but overlooking that their relationship was very adorable (I especially loved the scene where Desiree met Kyle's family).
Anyways, it was truly a great read and perfect for February and that Valentine's Day feel! I would recommend this for older teens and adults since sometimes it gets a little...saucy; let's put it that way.
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
Paige

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Unremembered by Jessica Brody

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 320
Release Date: March 5th, 2013
I know any review I write will never do this book justice because it is so completely and fantastically awesome! I was enthralled from the very start where we meet a girl who has just survived a plane crash but has lost all of her memories. As she waits in the hospital to see if anyone will come forward to claim her, she is told that her name was never on the list of passengers for the plane...so why was she at the crash site? Who is she?
A handsome boy comes and visits her while she is still in the hospital and he delivers cryptic messages saying that she needs to leave and that he wants to take her someplace safe and hide her from the evil people. This only adds more confusion to the missing girls identity, who has been nicknamed "Violet" by the hospital staff due to the color of her eyes. Violet decides to keep quiet about meeting the boy and is soon ushered into a temporary foster home.
Once there, she begins to rebuild her life and figure out exactly who she is, where she came from, why she wasn't on the plane, and who that mysterious boy was. 
This book was so action packed that I couldn't put it down! I flew through this novel in a matter of days and would've probably been even faster if I didn't have school to worry about. I highly recommend that everyone go out and buy this book immediately once it hits shelves everyone because it is amazing. You can obviously tell there was a lot of plot development (it wasn't all just thrown together) and that Jessica Brody put a lot of time and effort into this novel.
This being the first book I've read by her, I can't wait to go pick up some of her other works! Hopefully they are all as good as this one! I think there might be a sequel (but obviously not for a long time since this one hasn't come out yet) but if there is I will definitely be buying it as soon as possible. I could also see this book being turned into a movie because it is just so well done and if a movie were made about it, I could see how it would rack up a lot of revenue.
Overall, a fantastic read and I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of this year it's one of my top books of 2013!
I'm having a giveaway of a sneak peek pamphlet of this book (and some bookmarks) so if you want a chance to win that click here!
See you soon!
Paige
P.S. Thanks so much to Goodreads and Farrar Straus Giroux Publishing for hosting the giveaway of this book and for sending it out to me!

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Top 10 Tuesday #7

Check out all the info here at The Broke and The Bookish's blog.
February 12: Top Ten Favorite Romances


1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
My all-time favorite book. Enough said.


2. Night World Series by L. J. Smith
I LOVE these books and I always reread them because they are such easy reads and just so amazing!



3. Leaving Paradise Series by Simone Elkeles 
I read this a couple years ago and it is still one of my all time favorite series'.


4. Perfect Chemistry trilogy by Simone Elkeles
I read this about the same time as the Leaving Paradise series and it is just as good.


5. Bride Quartet series by Nora Roberts
These are really great!


6. Any Rachel Hawthorne book
Really quick and short reads that usually center around a season or a specific area in the world (theme parks, cruises, etc.)




7. Teen Idol by Meg Cabot
It's a Meg Cabot book. This fact alone should be enough to describe why it's awesome, but if it doesn't, I read this book in like two hours a few years back and reread it about a million times.


8. Elixir series by Hilary Duff
I didn't expect to like this series but I LOVED it and read both books in only a few days.


9. Nocturne by Syrie James
Yet another novel that I just flew through, and I love all of Syrie James' works!


10. Jason and Kyra by Dana Davidson
Really great book!


As always, leave a comment below with your own list and I'll come check it out and make sure to follow!
See you soon!
Paige

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Stacking the Shelves #1

Instead of doing monthly hauls I'm going to participate in the Stacking the Shelves meme hosted by Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews. Stacking the Shelves is a way to show off what books you have received in the week (whether they be for review, from the library, etc.) Most people do their's on Saturdays but I will be doing mine on Sundays. Enjoy!

This week: February 3- February 10

Purchased
So this week I went to my local Scholastic Warehouse Sale and got a ton of books for extremely cheap so here's what I got there:

Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson (paperback $4.50)


The Allegra Biscotti Collection by Olivia Bennett (paperback $1.25)


Airhead by Meg Cabot (paperback $1.50)


Plus by Veronica Chambers (paperback $1.50)


The Roar by Emma Clayton (paperback $1.25)


Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson (paperback $1.50)


Epic by Conor Kostick (paperback $5.00)


Ashes by Kathryn Lasky (paperback $1.50)


Lyonesse by Sam Llewellyn (hardback $2.50)


Legend by Marie Lu (hardcover $4.00)


Clone Codes by Patricia C. McKissack (hardback $2.50)


Maximum Ride Manga 1 by James Patterson (paperback $5.00)


Maximum Ride Manga 4 by James Patterson (paperback $5.00)


The Comet's Curse by Dom Testa (paperback $1.25)


Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld (hardback $5.00)


Bogus to Bubbly by Scott Westerfeld (paperback $1.50)



For review
The Genius of Little Things by Larry Buhl (paperback, sent to me by the author)


Eternal by Virginia Hust (ebook, sent to me by the author)

(sorry about the click to look inside thing from Amazon, this is the only picture I could find of the cover)

Songbird by Syrie James (ebook, sent to me by the author)


The Look by Sophia Bennett (ebook, received through NetGalley)


Leave a comment below of your Stacking the Shelves for this week and I'll come check it out and as always make sure to follow/subscribe!
See you soon!
Paige

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