Literally Lenny

Title: You’d Be Mine
Author: Erin Hahn
Published: April 2nd, 2019
Pages: 304

Quick synopsis: Annie Mathers is America’s sweetheart and heir to a country music legacy. If Superstar Clay Coolidge can’t convince Annie to join his summer tour, his music label is going to drop him. That’s what happens when your bad boy image turns into bad boy reality. Annie has been avoiding the spotlight after her parents’ tragic death.

From the start fans want them to be more than just tour mates, and Annie and Clay can’t help but wonder if the fans are right. But if there’s one part of fame Annie wants nothing to do with, it’s a high-profile relationship. She had a front row seat to her parents’ volatile marriage and isn’t interested in repeating history.

Goodreads Rating: 4.12
My Rating: 3.25

Would I recommend?: Only if you’re a country music fan and like YA contemporary romance.
Why?: The first half of this book was incredibly slow and to me completely unnecessary. The backstory and build-up was far too long. Thankfully, once we got further into the tour, things started to pick up. I really enjoyed the story between Annie and Clay (Jefferson). I really enjoyed the serious topics of addiction, suicide, and alcoholism that were touched upon in a YA book. It's something that isn't addressed enough for this age group. The ending was lacking a "big finale" as I had hoped for, since it seemed to just cut out and end at the CMAs. I figured there'd be this grand gesture that solidified that Jefferson and Annie were 100% together and making it work from Nashville to Indiana, but I didn't get that. Otherwise though, very cute book and a fun spring/summer read.

Title: Superman: Dawnbreaker
Author: Matt De Le Peña
Published: March 5th, 2019
Pages: 336

Quick synopsis: Clark Kent has always been faster, stronger--better--than everyone around him. But he wasn't raised to show off, and drawing attention to himself could be dangerous.

Lately it's difficult to hold back and keep his heroics in the shadows. When Clark follows the sound of a girl crying, he comes across Gloria Alvarez and discovers a dark secret lurking in Smallville. Turns out, Clark's not the only one hiding something. Teaming up with his best friend, Lana Lang, he throws himself into the pursuit of the truth. What evil lies below the surface of his small town? And what will it cost Clark to learn about his past as he steps into the light to become the future Man of Steel? Because before he can save the world, he must save Smallville.

Goodreads Rating: 3.69

Title: The Beauty of the Moment
Author: Tanaz Bhathena
Published: February 26th, 2019
Pages: 368

Quick synopsis: Susan is the new girl—she’s sharp and driven, and strives to meet her parents’ expectations of excellence. Malcolm is the bad boy—he started raising hell at age fifteen, after his mom died of cancer, and has had a reputation ever since.

Love is messy and families are messier, but in spite of their burdens, Susan and Malcolm fall for each other. The ways they drift apart and come back together are testaments to family, culture, and being true to who you are.

Goodreads Rating: 3.99
My Rating: 3.50

Would I recommend?: Yes, especially if you’re looking for more diverse YA books. This is IT.

Why?: The Beauty of the Moment is a story that shows that love knows no boundaries. The amount of diversity in this book was so refreshing and something that the YA genre most certainly needs. What made this book stand out were the serious topics of religion, divorce, cancer, and even Syrian refugees. Most people stray away from these topics and they are typically not touched upon due to their sensitive nature.

As for the romance story between Malcolm and Susan, in a way it was the typical “forbidden love” story merged with the “good girl meets bad boy” story. However, I will say that their relationship was flawed and therefore very realistic which is hard to find in YA. So for that reason I enjoyed their story, but otherwise it was not very "swoon-worthy."

Overall, if you're looking for more diverse books to read, definitely read this one. 

Thank you to MacMillan Publishers for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy of this book.

Title: Two Can Keep A Secret
Author: Karen M. McManus
Published: January 8th, 2019
Pages: 336

Synopsis: Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.

The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone's declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.

Goodreads Rating: 4.03
My Rating: 4.75

Would I recommend?: If you’re into mystery-thrillers at all, definitely.
Why?: This whole mystery-thriller YA genre is seriously killing it lately. It’s combining my two favorite genres into one and I’m all about it.

I was skeptical on how this was going to follow One Of Us Is Lying since it was one of the best books of 2017 (and it's currently at week 77 on the NYT bestsellers list for YA Hardcover). Amazingly, I actually have to say I enjoyed Two Can Keep A Secret more. I enjoyed the characters a lot more as there was definitely more character development. On top of that, the plot/storyline was better planned and executed.