Two Roads by L.M. Augustine

Two Roads by L.M. Augustine
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: August 26, 2013

The only person poetry-loving Cali Monroe hates more than herself is Logan Waters, the geeky kid who lives in the dorm building next to hers.

Ever since Cali's parents told her she would amount to nothing, she has felt entirely inadequate. Friendless and alone, she takes on the mean girl role in hopes it will make her feel better--and Logan serves as the perfect target. He infuriates her with his obnoxiously long lashes, his all too perfect dimpled smile, and his complete lack of personality outside of his intelligence. It doesn't hurt that he's part of the reason her brother is dead, either. So Cali hates him, and he returns the favor. Thus, their prank-filled, insult-driven rivalry is born, and torturing Logan quickly becomes the highlight of her life.

But when Cali's parents set them up on a blind date, she begins to realize Logan might not be as boring as she always thought. He shares her love of poetry, takes a sadistic pleasure in making fun of crepes, and he makes her blush when he calls her smile pretty.

And hey, maybe those long lashes of his aren't that obnoxious after all…

Free.
For once
I am free
It really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that I liked Two Roads. I like the author, I like angsty premises... so in the end, what's not to like about it? My answer to this question is a little complicated, I guess. Because I liked it, I really did. And I don't know what's keeping me from giving it four stars. So maybe, just listen to my words instead of my rating - four stars is still really good!

The main character, Cali, was really complicated. Most of the time, I really wasn't sure whether I liked her or hated her. She just brought out a lot for me to think about - sometimes, it seemed like she was undeniably cruel; but other times it was like she was stamping down the soul inside of her. Because she has a lot more feelings than she would like. She projects this image, the image of a cold ice queen, but really I don't think she's all that bad. She's just dealing with her problems in the only way that she knows how to, and that was one of the things that finally endeared her to me. I realized that she was flawed, and she made mistakes - just like the rest of us.

And Logan? He was his own brand of interesting. Because, well, unlike Cali, he took a completely different route to try and get over his grief. While she got mad, he tried to be happy. And it was actually kind of nice - I was rooting for them from the very beginning. I thought that maybe, just maybe they could have a chance at happiness.

But lets not talk about that - let's talk about how mean these two were to each other! I'm not ridiculously soft-hearted or anything (as you all know, I can't cry at books) but the pranks that they pulled... I would have cried over some of them. Because I don't really understand how the pranks helped. They honestly just made me sad, which is maybe why I liked this book so much - because Logan and Cali overcame so many issues together.

One of my notes says "I don't even have words for how much I love this", and I really don't. It's been about two weeks since I've read this book - and I still don't completely know how I feel about it. All I know is that Two Roads is good. Like the kind of good that you call your friends about good. It's happy and sad and romantic and poetic and it's one of the best New Adult books that I've read so far.

All in all, Two Roads is a book that you need words to describe - not ratings. There's nothing about this book that doesn't hit you where it hurts, but that's all part of it's charm.

Click to Subscribe by L.M. Augustine

Click to Subscribe by L.M. Augustine
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: May 9, 2013

1,135,789. That’s how many subscribers sixteen-year-old West Ryder has on his web vlog series. But he only has eyes for one of them.

As one of the internet’s most prestigious video bloggers, West talks about high school relationships under the name “Sam Green.” As far as he knows, no one from school, not even his best friend, Cat, has seen his videos. But the highlight of the whole thing is Harper Knight, who comments every day at exactly 2:02 in the afternoon. He doesn’t know anything about her aside from the occasional deep philosophical messaging on why pizza tastes so delicious, but as stupid as it sounds, he might be falling for her. So when they finally agree to meet in real life, West’s hope for romance seems more and more in reach. But that all changes as soon as he arrives at their meeting spot and sees Cat walking toward him, wearing the same “I *heart* Sam Green t-shirt.

To his alarm, West realizes he is falling in love with the best friend who has always been a sister to him.

The only reason that I'm giving this book three-point-five stars is because it's not deep deep deep. Enjoyment level, it's probably four, but as far as a deep premise, it's more like a three. But in spite of that, it's a really good read that's fun and fluffy.

West is such a funny, dorky, teenage character. I loved getting to read through his eyes, and I loved how he was able to poke fun at himself. He's just so dense, though! Ergh...I can't believe he can be best friends with Cat, and be talking to this "Harper" girl and never connect them together...I mean, wow. You think you know somebody and then...BOOM. Turns out they love you and you never even noticed. That is what I call being dense, y'all. Not only is he just dense, turns out that he's also kind of a jerk. Once he finds out that Harper is really his best friend (...) he freaks out. I can understand that, but he kind of led her along. Probably unknowingly, but still.

On the other end of the spectrum, Cat was awesome. I thought it was so adorable how she fell in love with her best friend, and I totally liked their chemistry together. I was mentally kicking West throughout the book, I'll have you know. I loved the little snatches of background that we get through her stories, and that she seems to be fighting for "them".

All in all, Click to Subscribe was a really, really cute read. I loved the romance between the two lead characters, and the ending was everything that I had hoped it would be.