Tag: high-school

Ruthless Knight (Royal Hearts Academy #2) by Ashley Jade

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Welcome to their kingdom…

Cole Covington is the most popular heartbreaker at school.
Every guy wants to be him and every girl wants to screw him.
Except me.
His devastatingly good looks, golden arm, and flirty smiles don’t do it for me anymore…because I know what’s lurking underneath the star quarterback’s gorgeous armor.

At least I thought I did.
Sometimes the most beautiful people…hide the ugliest truths.
And sometimes the only way to save someone…
is to walk beside them through hell.

Sawyer Church is the bible-thumping nerd of Royal Hearts Academy.
Girls pick on her and guys don’t notice her.
Except me.
Sweet, curvy, and sarcastic, she’s impossible to ignore.
No matter how much I try.
Everyone at school has her pegged as the chubby, Jesus loving geek, but unlike them—Sawyer’s real and never pretends to be someone she’s not.

Until I ask her to be my fake girlfriend.

Sometimes the most beautiful souls…hide the greatest pain.
And sometimes the only way to save someone…
is to fight for them.

Book: Ruthless Knight (Royal Hearts Academy #2) by Ashley Jade
Published: January 20, 2020
Pages: 608
Genres: Romance, Athlete, Curvy Heroine, High School, New Adult
Format: Kindle
Date Read: March 10-11, 2023
Rating: 5 Potatoes 🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔

Where do I even begin with this book?

This is the first book I have ever read of Ashley Jade’s but I am officially a fan! I have had the first book in this series in my to-buy pile for a while but never got around to it and then saw the reviews for this one and decided to jump right into the middle of this series. I’m so glad I did!

I want to know what it’s like to feel like I’m enough.

Sawyer Church as not had it easy – she has been bullied all her life and always made to feel like she wasn’t beautiful simply because she is overweight. She is a size 14 though to me I would consider that thick or curvy but that’s just me. She has had a crush on Cole since she came to California and always wants to believe in the good in him, even when he is acting like a jerk.

“You ended with a positive. You can tell a lot about how someone feels about a person by the way they end a statement, especially when they’re feeling conflicted about them.”

Cole Covington has had a thing for Sawyer for a while but due to having a reputation to uphold wont admit it to anyone, least of all her and treats her horribly in public.

“You think love is perfect? Like one of those fairytales?” He shakes his head. “Hell no. Love is hard…difficult. It’s dealing with someone’s shit day in and day out but never giving up on them because your heart won’t let you. It’s having a million reasons to leave them…but always having one good reason to stay.”

Sawyer and Cole’s journey was definitely not an easy one and had a lot of ups and downs but what I loved the most about them was that they truly loved each other and saw who they were as a person underneath it all. Cole was not always the easiest person to love but Sawyer loved him anyway and wasn’t afraid to call him on his crap. And Sawyer got what she needed most from Cole – someone who loved her for her, despite what her body did or didn’t look like.

I loved how much the characters grew as the book progressed. The Sawyer and Cole at the end of the book were so much more sure of themselves and were actually happy! It was so amazing to watch Cole grow as a human and be so in love with Sawyer that he didn’t care about anything else except making her happy and being with her. I loved his character so much, even when he was being a complete jerk.

The author does such a great job of developing these complex characters with real fears and issues. I can’t wait to read more of her work! I highly recommend this book!

Happenstance 3 (Happenstance 3) by Jamie McGuire

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Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it all. Now that Erin has learned the truth about the girls who tortured her, and about the boy she loves, she finds her time before graduation dwindling at an alarming and exciting pace. What used to be summer break was now a countdown to her final days in Blackwell. Her parents, Sam and Julianne struggle with the fear that just when they’ve found Erin, they must let her go, and the tension is higher than it’s been since Erin discovered who she really was.

Finally with the girl he’s loved since childhood, Weston grows more desperate as the summer days pass. He and Erin will go to separate colleges. His biggest fear is that this means they’ll go their separate ways. Plagued with making the best of the time he has left with Erin, and finding a way to make it last, Weston finds himself in a different state of mind hourly. He is just beginning to realize that hope is like quicksand. The harder Weston struggles, the faster Erin sinks.

Book: Happenstance 3 (Happenstance 3) by Jamie McGuire
Published: February 2nd, 2015
Pages: 246
Genres: Romance, New Adult, Novella, High School
Format: Kindle
Date Read: April 9, 2015
Rating: 5 Potatoes 🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔

I absolutely loved this novella series! Jamie McGuire hits another home run! Weston… loved him, so adorable. Erin was strong and independent – I loved her for that! Highly recommend this read!

Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

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Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.

She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.

He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

Book: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway
Published: June 23rd, 2015
Pages: 352
Genres: Romance, YA, High School,
Format: Kindle
Date Read: March 25-May 31, 2016
Rating: 4 Potatoes 🥔🥔🥔🥔

Emmy and Oliver. Oliver and Emmy. I love their friendship and how it can withstand time and anything life throws at them.

I loved this little high school romance book; it was refreshing to read a book that, even though it had drama, wasn’t too heavy on the angst! It’s nice to read about a couple who are friends first and a couple second. That’s so rare to read about these days!

This book should be on everyone’s to be read pile. Go! Do it now! I promise you wont regret it and this book will leave you with a smile on your face when you finish it!

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

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Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she’s beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

Book: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West (Goodreads)
Published: July 2nd, 2013
Pages: 320
Genres: Romance, High School, YA
Format: Kindle
Date Read: October 7-13, 2015
Rating: 4 Potatoes 🥔🥔🥔🥔

I tried so hard to like this book more than I did because of all of the wonderful reviews on Goodreads, really I did. The beginning started off slow for me and I nearly forced myself to continue reading the first 30% of the book. But, I soldiered on and I’m glad I did because it really is a good book!

I loved Xander, he was adorable! He definitely has book boyfriend potential! And I really did like Caymen’s sarcasm – I would reread this book just for that! But, I didn’t like her mom or the things she did. I understand her reasoning, in her mind anyway, for how she went about things but I don’t like her. Or the way she basically just left Caymen to run the store all the time. Not cool.

I really enjoyed this book but there’s something lacking in it that keeps me from giving it 5 stars… When I find out what it is i’ll have to let you all know. On the plus side, I will be giving Kasie West another chance with other books, she does weave a nice YA tale!