Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Publication Date: April 14, 2011

"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ?

Attachments was adorable, y'all. Like, adorable. There aren't words to describe how cute I think this book was, and how much I just... loved it. And everyone in it. Especially Beth and Lincoln, who are ADORBS. And I love Jennifer too. Just all of these characters, I love them all and I have massive feels and OMG I'm smiling like an idiot right now!

The story is told from Lincoln's point of view, and I really liked that. We rarely ever see guy points of view, especially a nerdy, normal guy's point of view. I mean, there's something to be said for the jock/bad boy (and I quite enjoy them) but Dear Lord, when there's a perfectly sweet and adorable boy out there? I'm going to go for him. My love for Lincoln almost surpasses my love for Levi, and the only reason that he doesn't beat him? He's too old for me. But really, Lincoln was just the sweetest thing, and he was adorable and awkward and GAH he's like a male me. Kind of. (Not to freak you out, but there's a note in my notebook that reads "Lincoln is so ridiculously adorable - I want one!")

And Beth? Most of what we know about her is the emails, but dang this girl is hilarious! I loved all of her emails with Jennifer. They were so much fun to read, and you could really see their personalities, even if it's only an email! I liked the fact that Rainbow Rowell could endear us to a character without ever really letting us into her mind - at all. Beth is only ever seen through emails. And it is awesome.

I had so much fun reading this book! Like, loads of laugh-out-loud-OMG-that's-awesome fun! I didn't know that I was capable of loving characters that much, but it was good. It was very good!

I'm gonna go back to Lincoln now - because I love the fact that Rainbow Rowell doesn't write stereotypical boy characters - she writes normal ones. And she writes normal girls too. I love love love that. But the boys... love them. If I met any of them in real life... I'd be after it. Who doesn't love a stout/farm-boyish guy? Really. (Hmm. Maybe I'm the lone weirdo, but whatever.)

The romance between Lincoln and Beth was a really fun, interesting experience. Obviously, for most of the book? Beth doesn't know anything about Lincoln, and he's reading her email. You'd think that would be really weird (and to some extent it is), but it somehow works. It was beautiful and believable and funny and weird. It wasn't too fast, but sometimes it verged on too slow - but it was a good slow.

I'm going to admit that the ending was a little open, but in an "WHY MUST YOU END" way, rather than a "WHAT THAT WASN'T AN ENDING" way. All in all, I really recommend Attachments. Like, insanely recommend, and want everyone to experience the cute. READ IT.

Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally

Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally
Series: Hundred Oaks, #4
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publication Date: December 3, 2013

They’re from two different worlds.

He lives in the estate house, and she spends most of her time in the stables helping her father train horses. In fact, Savannah has always been much more comfortable around horses than boys. Especially boys like Jack Goodwin—cocky, popular and completely out of her league. She knows the rules: no mixing between the staff and the Goodwin family. But Jack has no such boundaries.

With her dream of becoming a horse jockey, Savannah isn’t exactly one to follow the rules either. She’s not going to let someone tell her a girl isn’t tough enough to race. Sure, it’s dangerous. Then again, so is dating Jack…

"It doesn't matter where you dance. It's only who you're with."

I'm going to be really honest here... I don't have a clue in the world about what to say. I love everything that Miranda Kenneally writes, it's a fact. But I loved this one because of the cameos. They're the reason that this book gets me right in the feels, and the reason for my love of this book.

Because honestly? I didn't love Savannah and Jack as a couple. Don't get me wrong, they were adorable... but there were a lot of problems in their relationship. (miscommunication, etc.) I realize that this is a staple to almost every relationship, but it kind of saddened me to see them both getting hurt by it. So maybe I did kind of love them, if I was sad when they got hurt.

Jack was sweet and goofy 99% of the time, but he sometimes upset me. He doesn't always think of Savannah's feelings, and sometimes I just wanted to throttle the boy! Errggghhh he made me so mad! He does some really swoony things, though, so I had to forgive him for that one little slight. Just this time! I do wish that we could have seen more depth in his character - it would have been nice to know more about him.

Savannah was adorable. Just throwing that out there. I do get the impression that she is a younger teen, though, as opposed to an older one. I think she's just innocent. Yep, that's it. She's innocent. I loved the relationships that she had with her friends - they were so cute! I also loved the fact that she liked horses - we don't ever see a horse jockey protagonist in YA! I have to say, though... I don't watch races, so I didn't understand a lot of the jockeying stuff. Just because I don't watch it... doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it! Savannah grew throughout Racing Savannah, and that was so much fun to watch.

I thought that her dad was a little odd, though. He's not that big of a character in the grand scheme of things, but sometimes... I don't know. His sense of humor was really... childish. I'm not sure why a little thing like that bothers me, but it does. In another point in the book, Savannah is told to "forget the horse, ride a cowboy" by one of the other jockeys and nothing is done. I don't care how jokingly that was said, my dad would have been all over it. Again, this is a little thing, and it did not affect my enjoyment of the book overall.

I'm glad to say that Racing Savannah has that trademark Kenneally humor! This is one of the reasons that I love her books - she can write convincing teenagers and convincing dialogue with humor.

I really, really have to say something about the cameos - I am in love with them. There is nothing better than seeing your favorite characters again, even if it's for just a little bit. I will admit that I didn't recognize Will's cameo for a while - until I heard his first and last name together. Then I connected the dots - it went exactly like this: "CORNDOGGGG!" I seriously died of the adorbs right then.

We also get to see appearances by Sam & Jordan, Kate and her boyfriend, and Vanessa Green as Savannah's best friend. It was so awesome! I love how Miranda Kenneally can make all of her main characters crazy different - not one of them is the same.

All in all, Racing Savannah was actually a really good read. I definitely recommend it, especially if you're reading the series already!

Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt

Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: September 4, 2012

According to her guidance counselor, fifteen-year-old Payton Gritas needs a focus object-an item to concentrate her emotions on. It's supposed to be something inanimate, but Payton decides to use the thing she stares at during class: Sean Griswold's head. They've been linked since third grade (Griswold-Gritas-it's an alphabetical order thing), but she's never really known him.

The focus object is intended to help Payton deal with her father's newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis. And it's working. With the help of her boy-crazy best friend Jac, Payton starts stalking-er, focusing on-Sean Griswold . . . all of him! He's cute, he shares her Seinfeld obsession (nobody else gets it!) and he may have a secret or two of his own.

In this sweet story of first love, Lindsey Leavitt seamlessly balances heartfelt family moments, spot-on sarcastic humor, and a budding young romance.

Nothing creates a buzz like an Executive Deluxe day planner.

I knew exactly what to expect when I started this: I was expecting cute, romantic fluff that's basically there as a filler. What I got was so much more. There was romance, and yes it was adorable. But there was also self-discovery and pain, as well as just general life.

I liked Payton, she was a good main character. I feel like I can relate to her; even if I don't know what it's like to have a sick parent. She handled it okay, though, I think. She was really funny and sarcastic, and I liked that she had actual feelings, as opposed to some flat character from other books that I could mention.

I liked that she found a focus object through such a ridiculous thing-- it was great. Now I will take a moment to say something about her focus object, Sean Griswold's head. SEAN. He was such a sweetheart-- just one of those boys that you want to hug the life out of, you know? (Well, I want him to live but you get the picture, right?) He was the perfect guy to kind of balance Payton out.

Their romance was adorable. So unsure and cute and I never wanted the adorbs to end! My only real issue with this book was that it follows the formula for a romantic comedy down to the T. You know what I mean. But I did like that every character had a purpose, and a unique personality.

All in all, Sean Griswold's Head is the perfect beach read-- except it doesn't involve any beach. Otherwise, it meets all the other requirements-- sweet and cute, with a dash of romance.