Love Songs and Other Lies by Jessica Pennington

Love Songs & Other Lies: A Novel by Jessica Pennington
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Tor Teen for the advance reader copy, Love Songs and Other Lies by debut author, Lisa Pennington, in exchange for an honest review. Oh, did I love this story; I also think this awesome debut is a YA story but can also be put into the new adult genre since the characters are college age. Vee and Cam’s story was heartbreaking, breathtaking, and I rooted for them to hang in there (despite Cam’s past) and prosper as a couple. Pennington’s use of THEN and NOW as well as Cam’s or Vee’s point of view was critical in establishing what was happening (took place) in the past as well as the present for the main characters. Vee’s progression was great to read; she was an attentive granddaughter, funny, great singer and songwriter and good friend to her band members. As she becomes friends with Cam, the reader is treated to her snarkiness, wanting to just be friends with Cam, despite her growing feelings. I liked the way as time went on, she shared everything with Cam and wished her honesty led him to break down his terrifying walls of blame and self-hatred. The music element of being in a band, writing songs, and how the music moves Vee and Cam was so exciting; I loved the tour, the tightness of the band members, especially her best friend, Logan. The drama of the tour, what went down between Vee and Cam, kept me mesmerized and turning the pages. This is a great beach read, teens will love the music, band aspect, as well as the reality TV drama in this emotionally charged second chance winner!

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Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky

Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I listened to this book as part of the 2017 HUB Reading Challenge for awesome audiobooks. Barrett Wilbert Weed did a spectacular job of narrating all the girls voices, the guys in the band and all of the British accents were perfect. But that is all I can say- performance great but I HATED the story! The main character, Lydia is an unreliable narrator - she kept saying she was going to the police about band boy, Rupert P being tied up in the chair in their room - but she never does and her reasoning was just so awful- meant to be funny but just weak excuses to me. All of her friends were not really her friends and as they get deeper and deeper into the Rupert P mishap, things just keep getting more and more ridiculous. So I was not a fan of these fan girls, not a fan of the story but I did like the narrator's performance.

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Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reagan O'Neill is a bad girl who has just been cheated on by her loser boyfriend so she decides to follow her best friend and singer Lilah Montgomery across the country. What I liked about Reagan is that she is hard core and has a brittle front that puts most people off. It is Matt Finch, who joins the tour to pose as Lilah's boyfriend, who figures out Reagan is like him in many ways. This was narrated PERFECTLY by Rebecca Gibbel! She had the right voices for Matt, Lilah, Reagan and others. I enjoyed listening because the narrator got the pitch and tone right. What will happen to bad girl Reagan as good guy Matt begins to strike a chord in her heart?

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Scar Girl by Len Vlahos

Scar Girl by Len Vlahos
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group and Carolrhoda Lab for the ARC, Scar Girl by Len Vlahos. If you loved Scar Boys, you will love the band’s success while you will be tremendously saddened by the band’s secrets and those effects on each member. Vlahos does another stellar job of crafting a band story that is so much more than that- the energy created from their music vibrates and reaches deep into our souls as Johnny, Harry, and Chey struggle with problems they choose not to share with one another. All the while they are attaining monumental success as a band. What will happen to the Scar Boys? What will happen to each member of the band? This sequel crushed me to my core and I vote for another book, Scar Boys Rule! Highly recommended!

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Beat the Band by Don Calame

Beat the Band by Don Calame
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the 2nd book, Cooper and his friends decide to enter a contest to win a Band competition and the laughs continue as one thing after another goes wrong beginning with Coop's father and then spreading out to include Uncle Doug, Nick and so much more. Try it, you will love this book if you enjoy boy humor!

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The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved LaCour's Hold Still and boy did I love this one too! Colby is such a great narrator. He loves Bev, she has been his best friend since forever and he can't wait to go on tour with her all girl band, The Disenchantments, before he and Bev tour Europe. They have decided not to go to college like everyone else. The other band members are Alexa(younger sister to Meg and still in high school) and Meg (will be dropped off to college at the end of the band's tour )while Colby is the driver of his uncle's prized Melinda, set-up guy and go to guy for everyone. He is an awesome artist, so is Bev, which makes it even more difficult when Bev acts very strange at the start of the tour and tells Colby she applied to RISD and will attend in the fall!!! Colby is stunned because Bev gives him no explanation, but Meg and Alexa make him feel great. They go to some interesting stops on their tour, get involved in trying to solve a tattoo mystery, and meet some "different" people, places, etc. There were so many great quotes, Colby SEES things and his comments are insightful, thoughtful, yet you know he is clamoring to find some meaning in this tour and what should he do now that they are not going to Europe. The more I found out about Colby's friends and what made them unique, LaCour's writing, setting, characters were all so memorable. I am not into tattoes, still am not after reading this book, but I do like the murals and graffitti artistry. Recommended!

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