Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt


Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Rashika’s Meet Cute

Posted by 4 Comments

Rashika’s Meet CuteMeet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on January 2nd, 2017
Genres: Anthology, Romance, YA
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

Whether or not you believe in fate, or luck, or love at first sight, every romance has to start somewhere. MEET CUTE is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of "how they first met" from some of today’s most popular YA authors.

Readers will experience Nina LaCour's beautifully written piece about two Bay Area girls meeting via a cranky customer service Tweet, Sara Shepard's glossy tale about a magazine intern and a young rock star, Nicola Yoon's imaginative take on break-ups and make-ups, Katie Cotugno's story of two teens hiding out from the police at a house party, and Huntley Fitzpatrick's charming love story that begins over iced teas at a diner. There’s futuristic flirting from Kass Morgan and Katharine McGee, a riveting transgender heroine from Meredith Russo, a subway missed connection moment from Jocelyn Davies, and a girl determined to get out of her small town from Ibi Zoboi. Jennifer Armentrout writes a sweet story about finding love from a missing library book, Emery Lord has a heartwarming and funny tale of two girls stuck in an airport, Dhonielle Clayton takes a thoughtful, speculate approach to pre-destined love, and Julie Murphy dreams up a fun twist on reality dating show contestants.

This incredibly talented group of authors brings us a collection of stories that are at turns romantic and witty, epic and everyday, heartbreaking and real.

Meet Cute is an adorable anthology of stories I felt were personally written for me. I didn’t actually know the book was coming out until like mid-way through last year. That in itself isn’t entirely odd in of itself but like for a book that just screams RASHIKA, clearly, I should have known about it. Shout out to my friend Holly who saw the book at ALA in June and thought of me even when I didn’t know Meet Cute was a book I needed.

I digress though. I don’t really want to review this anthology. I can wholeheartedly say it was worth the read and that I didn’t dislike any of the stories. There were maybe 2-3 that didn’t do much for me but even then, I did not dislike the stories. This is an anthology packed with stories written by amazing authors and for that reason alone, it should be worth the buy/read.

What I DO want to do is share one of ~my~ many meet cute stories. Also just as an FYI, I personally don’t feel a meet cute has to be romantic or even has to go anywhere? There is just a certain thrill to meeting new people in fun ways and that is where I stand.

ANYWAY.

So.

Winter Break 2014

I was fresh out of my first term in college but unable to go home for the winter break for a multitude of reasons. Instead I spend that winter hopping between the homes of friends and living out of a suitcase for 5 weeks.

After having spent 2 weeks in the homes of two different friends, I was on my way to my final destination for my winter adventures. New York City. The Big Apple. What have you. It was going to be my first time in the city that never sleeps and I wasn’t even an adult yet. I was going to be taking the 20 hour train from Chicago to New York all by myself but first, I had a 5 hour layover and not much to do during those 5 hours.

If you’ve spend some time traveling, you will know that train stations are nothing like airports. Layovers are not nearly as interesting at train stations even in bigger cities. Food places start shutting down around 8:00 PM and there just isn’t much to do. No free wifi, no charging ports no nothing. Just you and your thoughts as you wait for boarding to begin. Trains, unlike airplanes, also don’t serve you meals which really sucks when you’re going to be on one for 20 hours. I decided I might as well feed myself before I boarded and get some snacks for the train ride. I found myself craving fries and the train station I was at just happened to have a McDonalds where I could grab some fries.

I am not sure how it happened but somehow, while I was waiting for my fries, I found myself talking to a complete stranger whose phone had just died. Maybe he approached me first or maybe I just saw he was panicking and decided to reach out to him since I had a portable charger. I knew traveling could be stressful and wouldn’t wish a dead phone and no way to contact your family when over 2000 miles away from home on anyway. We found ourselves walking back down to the lounge together and found out we were going to be taking the same train to the same destination.

I’ve now long forgotten the name of this once-friend but somewhere out there is a now-stranger who I shared a long train ride and many stories with. Who knew you could meet people at a McDonalds?

How do you define a meet cute? Have you had any meet cutes? 😉

Review: Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake

Posted by on 06/02/2016 • 3 Comments

I read this book a while ago, but have been totally slacking on actually writing reviews. I’m sure that you all have noticed. I am going to try to do my best with this since I get hazy on details if I wait to long. I really did like the characters, and I thought they had good chemistry. I haven’t been reading a whole lot lately, but I have been really into contemporary novels and this one was one I did enjoy.

Hadley is a bit of a rough character. Her father cheated on her mom, but they are still together, but it’s not really a happy place. Her mother tries to make her father as annoyed an uncomfortable as possible, and he tries to act like it’s all okay….

Review: We’ll Never Be Apart by Emiko Jean

Posted by on 11/09/2015 • 4 Comments

I’m always up for a book that is creepy and messes with your head, and this sounded like it was perfect for that. Sadly, it really fell short for me. It’s supposed to be a mind fuck, but it was too predictable. It was supposed to be creepy, but it just wasn’t. I didn’t really like the main character much because she was kind of boring. Even though she is breaking all the rules and is out for murder, she just seemed a bit blah for me. And the love interest… there always has to be one of those right? He didn’t do much for me. He’s the one who is supposed to be all dangerous, but helpful, and really a sweetheart. Yeah, he met all those stereotypes on the…

Review: NEED by Joelle Charbonneau

Posted by on 10/23/2015 • 8 Comments

At first glance, NEED by Joelle Charbonneau sounds like the fricking bomb. Its premise speaks of the following:

A small town full of selfish high schoolers; A social media tool that promises to fulfill your every need if you do certain conditions; A heroine who has a brother who desperately needs a kidney transplant.

This was basically me:

But unfortunately, while I do agree that this was a fast-paced novel, it wasn’t something that left a huge impact in me.

Let’s talk about multiple, emotionless, deadpan-like POVs.

For a premise like this, I do understand the need of having multiple POVs, especially since you have a tempting social media tool that promises to fulfill even your most extravagant wishes for a price. It’s something that affects the people on a…

Review: Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman

Review: Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman

Posted by on 09/09/2015 • 5 Comments

“HEY, PARDNER. You don’t happen to have a dip there, wouldcha? Yer gonna be in fer a wild, wild ride, Western style.”

Did I say that right? Did I sound like a kick-ass cowboy, about to tell a story around a campfire? Yes? …No? Ah, well.

2015 is definitely the year where Western YA is taking the world by storm. I’ve already read 2 set in this era – one during the Californian Gold Rush (Walk on Earth a Stranger) and finally, this one, set a little bit after all the gold hooligans have come and gone. And to think there’s another one set with a Chinese heroine (Under the Never Sky), which I hear is pretty good, diverse, and character-driven (you bet I’ll be reading that one as soon…

Review: Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell

Review: Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell

Posted by on 06/19/2015 • 15 Comments

Don’t get me wrong – despite my three-star rating, this has got to be the most refreshing Cinderella reimagination I’ve read.

I’ve always wanted more fairy tale retellings in a Steampunk setting. It’s new, it’s unique, and visualizing all the gears and machines around characters who are based on our favorite tales from childhood simply gives me the warm fuzzies. All the possibilities! All the unique things our character can do with herself and with her surroundings!

In that aspect, this book certainly delivered.

Do you remember how Disney portrayed our favorite fairy tale heroines in the early 90s (and well before that) as ladies who needed a man in order to be happy? Remember how romance was the be-all end-all to their Happy Ever Afters?

Well, Mechanica takes all that and…

What NOT to Do If You Meet a Devil: Guest Post by Gina Damico + Giveaway!

What NOT to Do If You Meet a Devil: Guest Post by Gina Damico + Giveaway!

Posted by on 01/05/2015 • 41 Comments

Hi guys! I’m happy to be a part of the Hellhole tour which is stopping by the blog today. I’ve got Gina Damico here with a funny guest post along with a giveaway! First, here’s what this book is all about:

Book Trailer:

Guest Post by Gina Damico

What NOT to do if you meet a devil

If you meet a devil, I would advise against giving him snacks.

(That is, of course, assuming the devil you meet is a “he”. If you meet a female devil, nothing can help you. Just sit back, let her disembowel you, and call it a day.)

If you give a devil a Cheez-It, it won’t end there. He’ll want Cheetos. He’ll want Fritos. He’ll want…

Review: Hellohole by Gina Damico

Review: Hellohole by Gina Damico

Posted by on 01/02/2015 • 18 Comments

What a fun book!! For starters, the table of contents is a crossword puzzle. Yes, it has to do with the story, but besides that it’s super fun. (The answer is at the end of the book in case you need it.) I love dark humor and this book had that covered. With a serious storyline and humor combined, it was an entertaining read that also has you really feeling for the characters. The devil is hilarious, but keep in mind, he is a devil so he is very evil.

Max is kind of a nerd and doesn’t really have friends besides his next door neighbor. She of course is popular, pretty, and dating the star football player. He is like the third wheel. He also spends most of…