Miss Lowe's Book Nook

I sped through Girl Against the Universe  by Paula Stokes in the last few days. I read her book Liars, Inc.  a few years ago and enjoyed it, so I had high hopes for this one. Girl Against the Universe  wasn't quite what I expected, but it was thoroughly enjoyable, thought-provoking, and had just the right amount of plucking at my heartstrings. Maguire Kelly is bad luck. When she was eleven, her dad, uncle, and brother all died in a car accident, which she survived without a scratch. When she was twelve, a roller coaster she was riding derailed and everyone except her was severely injured. More and more bad things keep happening to those around her, so surely Maguire is the source of the bad luck? So she ostracizes herself, keeping track of the bad things that happen, and developing intense good luck rituals and five-second checks. Then, before her junior year, another major accident leads to Maguire and her family moving across San Diego, where she can get a new start. T...

Have you ever devoured a 400+ page book in less than six hours? Have you ever done that after not finishing a book for months? Have you ever finished said book and thought, "wow, maybe I should post on my blog about this" after not posting on said blog for over seven months? Because that's what happened to me. Yesterday, I dove into As You Wish  by Chelsea Sedoti. It wasn't the greatest book I've ever read, but it was just so refreshing to be lost in a book again. I picked up As You Wish  because I thought it was a Princess Bride  reference, but instead I came away with an interesting coming-of-age story that had nothing to do with princesses, pirates, or dueling to the Pain. The tiny town of Madison, Nevada is boring as all get out. Nobody stops there except to get gas on their way to Rachel, a popular UFO sighting spot. But Madison's residents like that no one stops in their town - in fact, they do their best to make sure that they don't. Because Madiso...

I've spent most of this summer reading non-fiction-y books and soaking up knowledge. I figured it was time to get my dose of delightful teenage normalcy, this time in the form of Jenny Han's bestselling series of three books: To All the Boys I've Loved Before , P. S. I Still Love You , and Always and Forever, Lara Jean . I had never read any of Han's work before, but I loved these books and devoured them in less than a week! Lara Jean Song Covey, middle daughter and accomplished scrapbooker, writes letters to the boys she falls in love with. She pours out her every feeling and notion about them, using up all her emotions. Then, rather than sending them, she keeps them in her hatbox, hidden away. She's written five letters, and when they get sent out to their respective recipients, Lara Jean is mortified, because one of the letters was to her next door neighbor, who is also her older sister's recent ex-boyfriend. In order to cover up her feelings for Josh, Lara ...

There's nothing better than a proper sequel. I had been eagerly looking forward to Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly, and this week I finally got my hands on Trouble Makes a Comeback . It was just as great as the first one! It's been over five months since Philip Digby jetted out of Zoe's life. She's adjusted- friends and a boyfriend have been gained, people stare at her less, and she feels (mostly) prepared for the SATs. Then Digby reappears. He's still relentlessly searching for clues about his sister's case and still the same Old Digby - or is he? Henry is acting weird, and Sloane comes to Digby and Zoe for advice, Zoe's boyfriend feels threatened by Digby (with good reason), and Bill still won't leave Digby alone. In between hunting down long-cold trails in Sally's case, will another drug bust be on the horizon? Are there even richer snobs than the Blooms out there? What the heck is going on with Digby and how is Zoe supposed to...

Jane Austen's novels are some the best-loved of all time, most notably among the seemingly-condemned-to-spinsterhood group. What happens when one Darcy-loving spinster-to-be finds herself on the trip of a lifetime in Austenland ? I read Shannon Hale's take on a story of a girl thrown into the ultimate Regency fairy tale and I was utterly enchanted myself. Jane Hayes has bad luck with men. Her 13 ex-boyfriends exemplify that. But worse than her string of break-ups is her reaction to the break-ups. Every time, she turns back to the comforting fantasy of Mr. Darcy (as played by Colin Firth, of course). Jane sits at home, watching her hidden Pride & Prejudice DVD and mooning over Austen's heroes instead of real men. When Jane's great-aunt bequeaths her a trip to Pembroke Park, an immersive Austen experience, Jane is at first hesitant. Is diving fully into her fantasy the right choice? Or will having the full Regency lifestyle finally help her kick her Darcy habit an...

All good things must come to an end, even teenage serial killer hunter novels. I finally finished Jennifer Lynn Barnes' last Naturals novel, Bad Blood . It was so good, I nearly got whiplash from all the plot twists. After the crazy revelations of All In , Cassie and the rest of the Naturals gang are stressing out, hanging on to any microscopic lead to Nightshade's cult. When a childhood friend of Michael's disappears on a Fibonacci date, the Naturals head to New York state and encounter Michael's father. More leads appear, calling Cassie back to her forgotten past, dredging up old memories for more than one member of the team. With cults, murder, and twisted family histories merging all around, how can the Naturals separate the truth from the lies and stop the Masters? I've loved all the Naturals novels. Barnes, who has advanced degrees in psychology, has done such an amazing job with making everything in the novels believable and accurate. Her characters are i...

For long time, I've heard the buzz about Sarah J. Maas and her books. I figured it was time to give her a try, so this week I picked up A Court of Thorns and Roses , the first book in a trilogy. While I was a bit hesitant as first, I ended up being pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed ACOTAR (as the cool kids call it). Our heroine is Feyre, a poverty-stricken human girl. The sole provider for her family of a father and two sisters, she hunts in the woods to keep them off the harsh edge of starvation. One particularly brutal winter day, Feyre encounters a wolf in the woods. But with whispers of faeries crossing the wall and attacking humans, Feyre takes the risk, killing the wolf even though it may be a faerie in disguise. The next day, a vengeful faerie rips her from her home, taking her across the wall to Prythian, the land of the fae. Alone in a strange land, surrounded by those who could kill her in an instant, Feyre is constantly on her guard and fearing for her life. B...