Book Review: Ten Things Sloane Hates About Tru by Tera Lynn Childs

Author: Tera Lynn Childs
Series: Creative HeArts #1
Publisher: Entangled Crush
Release Date: September 14th 2015
My Rating: 3 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

When life gives you a blank canvas, make art.

Sloane Whitaker hates everything about moving to Texas. She hates leaving behind her friends and half her family in New York, starting over senior year at Austin’s NextGen Academy, and having to say she lives in Texas. Most of all, she hates that it’s all her fault. If she wants to earn her way back to the Big Apple, she has to prove she can still be the perfect daughter.

Which means no vandalism art, no trouble at school, and absolutely no Tru Dorsey, her serial screw-up neighbor, who loves nothing more than pushing her buttons.

But from the moment he vaults onto the roof outside her bedroom, there is something about him that makes her want to break every rule. Suddenly it’ s not the ten things she hates about Tru that are at the top of her list. It’s the ten reasons she doesn’t want to be without him.

*Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from Netgalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC in exchange for an honest review

I know this has probably been mentioned a few times by different reviewers, but my first thought when I saw the title was to thing of the movie Ten Things I Hate About You, which to this day is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is probably because of that connection that I had such high expectations for this book.

I enjoyed the fact that the main character was in the school of arts, as it's something I haven't read about before. I thought Sloane was an interesting character. The story hinted a few times at "the incident", which you get to find out about towards the end of the book. I really hoped that Sloane would be more accepting with how things are because of that thing that happened because of her. Most of the book she kept saying how much she hated Texas and the fact that she had to move, which at times got to be a little too much for my liking.

I liked Tru. Like Sloane, he has his secrets that he doesn't want anyone to know about. His story did break my heart, because he is a great guy, despite his family and his relationship with his parents.

This was a quick and fun read, although the ending did feel a little bit rushed. I found out there's a sequel, so I'm hoping that some of the questions I was left with will be solved in later installments.

Comic Book Tuesday #7: The Wish List Edition

Hey guys! Since I haven't read any comic books recently, I decided to do something different for today. I thought I'd share with you some of the books I want to read in the future. So without further ado, here are some of the comic books I hope to get to read this year.

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home - One of my favorite TV shows of all time is Buffy and I was super sad when the show ended. And since I started reading comic books I've decided that I will be reading the spin-off comics, because, among other things, I miss Spike and Xander.
2. Supernatural: Origins - Supernatural is another of my favorite TV shows. Although I've been a fan for years, I've only recently found out about the comic books (and the tie-in novels). I'm very curious about the years between Mary Winchester's death and where the show starts in the Pilot. I know the show explores a little bit of what happened, but I'm really interested in seeing John's struggle with hunting and raising two kids on his own. 
3. Vampire Academy - I've heard really mixed things about the comic book version of the series, so I'm really curious to see for myself how it looks like. I'm also a sucker for all things having to do with Dimitri
4. The Wicked + The Divine - A lot of people are loving this book and I've seen some sneak peeks online, in reviews, and it looks amazing. Also, anything relating to ancient gods and mythology is going to be of interest to me, so I can't wait to check this one out. 

Obsessed With Covers #31: Collide, Once Upon A Dream

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

So, here are the prettiest covers I've seen this week.

Little known fact about me: I love guitars. Probably more than I love coffee and chocolate combined. I know, it sounds impossible to love something more than those two things, but it's true. Which is exactly why this cover caught my eye. The second thing that made me love this cover is the use of water and fire. I love that at the center is a guitar, making it clear that the instrument plays a very significant role in this battle, whatever that is.








Collide - H.M. Ward

I absolutely love this cover! Growing up, one of my favorite Disney movies was Sleeping Beauty. Besides the fact that Aurora had three fairy godmothers, Maleficent had a pet raven. A RAVEN! Which is 80% the reason why I love this cover so much. I also like the colors used on this cover. I'm curious about this book too, because I wonder how exactly the story will change and how not waking Aurora up will affect the story. The thing is, I love how the green smoke is concentrated around her head area, which is really interesting. And her eyes are open, but I have a feeling that she's not able to see anything, really. So I am definitely curious about this book

Once Upon A Dream - Liz Braswell

Comic Book Tuesday #6: Sensation Comics #1

When I was about 5 years old there were two TV shows I was crazy about: Star Trek and Wonder Woman. Like I said when I first started this feature, I wasn't a comic book reader as a kid. But I loved Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman. Why? Well, because it was a woman. I remember being fascinated with the idea that she was her own hero and that she could take care of herself, that she could save the day. I don't have many memories about the show itself, except for being absolutely in love with the way she'd change from her regular, civilian clothes, into her superhero outfit. I also remember her cuffs, which I've had an appreciation for even then. So I was very excited to read the origin story of Wonder Woman because of those reasons.

Before starting the book, I was kind of scared, in a way, that the story wouldn't live up to my expectations. I'm happy to say that the book was a very good read. I loved the vintage feel of it too. Since this issue was from what it's known as the Golden Age of comics, it doesn't have the flashy, every-panel-is-a-mini-painting look to it, but that's actually what made the read more enjoyable. Obviously, with the books I've reviewed before, I was impressed by the art, but this comic was exactly like I imagined old comics should look like.

Diana's storyline isn't as rich as I wanted it to be, in a way. I would love to read about her childhood and about life on Paradise Island. I don't know if this is addressed in later versions of the character or in later issues from this story line, I hope it is. The thing I liked most was that she was just as badass as I remember her to be. I am curious about the later issues and how her story is continued. I also am very intrigued about the other versions of the character, so I might dive into those as well, once I finish this original story line.

I'm glad I read this book and that my expectations were met, even though they were pretty high. I cannot wait to read more. Also, this made me curious about the origin stories of other superheroes, so I might try to get my hands on those as well.

Obsessed With Covers #30: City Of Light, Roadside Magic

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

Hey guys! Happy Monday! Sorry I went missing last week, but I had some stuff going on. This week I'm bringing you Urban Fantasy covers.

The beauty of this cover stands in its simplicity. The POV used is rather interesting, making it look like the dark night sky is the focus. There's what looks like either a bridge or the deck of a yacht/ship in the lowest part of the cover. Whatever it is, it seems like it's full of water. What hits me about this cover is that despite the title, that city has no lights that I can see. So I'm really curious about that, about the discrepancies between the title and the city shown in the cover. I love the font used for the title, I've always had a thing for neon signs. I also like that the letters "bleed" light around them. I'm actually very excited about this book, because this looks like an interesting read. 

City of Light - Keri Arthur 

This cover makes me think of Ghost Rider. That and the bike are what first got my attention and made me love this cover. Because bikes are awesome! I also love the sleeve tattoos the cover model has. That's a very interesting pattern and I'm very intrigued by it. I wonder if the tattoos have a story. I also like that it seems as if his powers are coming from the tattoos. I am curious about who he's chasing, because he looks ready to go to war, dangerous, angry and very, very concentrated. I have a feeling that being on his bad side is not a good place to find yourself in.

Roadside Magic - Lilith Saintcrow

Confessions of a Weird Reader #6: To All The Reads I Put On Hold

Happy Wednesday everyone! Today I want to talk to you about a special kind of books, the ones I decide to put down for a little while.

As you probably already know, I have no issue DNFing a book. If I don't enjoy it, I don't finish it. Seems reasonable, right? But what happens with those tough-to-read books? Those are really painful to DNF, mostly because I really don't want to. The decision to put them aside for a little while isn't easy for me. Which is why this blog post is dedicated to them, to the books that I just had to put on hold for a while in 2015. Here we go!

Things I Want My Daughters To Know - Elizabeth Noble

How much I read: 22%

Why I put it on hold: It's not you, it's me. You had the misfortune of being picked up right after I finished reading Somebody Up There Hates You by Hollis Seamon, a book with an equally sad topic. I thought I could read you right away. I was wrong.

Will I finish it: Definitely. The story is sad, but also inspiring. It also shows how different people react in very different ways to the same situation, even if those people are siblings. It's a great story and I do plan to finish it.

The Dream of the Child Who Walks On Snow Without Leaving Traces - Gabriel Chifu

How much I read: 56%

Why I put it on hold: The subject is a difficult one to read about. It's about the communist regime in the 70s in Romania and the saddest part about this book is that most of this stuff (if not all of it) actually happened. To real people, in real life. It's not just some what-if situation, it's a real life story at the end of the day. It's hard to get through without wanting to scream. Or cry. Or both.

Will I finish it: Yes. I do. I will. Maybe that could be January's resolution!

The Strange Journey of Mr. Daldry - Marc Levy

How much I read: About 50%

Why I put it on hold: It was you. Well, kind of. Mostly me. See, I'm used to Marc Levy writing great stories, stories that don't always make sense right away. Stories that aren't always light and funny. I picked up this book, feeling hopeful. I also had super high expectations. It is possible that those expectations were way too high. Maybe I wasn't paying attention, maybe it's my fault.

Will I finish it: I think so, I'm not sure. That's the sad part, because I do want to know how the story ends, what they find on their journey.





Let's talk. Did you put aside any books last year? Or this year? Why?