Friday, December 06, 2013

Mini Reviews: Hooked by Liz Fichera and Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins

From Goodreads: When Native American Fredricka ‘Fred’ Oday is invited to become the only girl on the school’s golf team, she can’t say no. This is an opportunity to shine, win a scholarship and go to university, something no one in her family has done. But Fred’s presence on the team isn’t exactly welcome - especially not to rich golden boy Ryan Berenger, whose best friend was kicked off the team to make a spot for Fred. But there’s no denying that things are happening between the girl with the killer swing and the boy with the killer smile ...


My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: I think I was expecting Liz Fichera’s Hooked to have a lot more romance than it did because of the cover. Instead, the plot kind of revolves more around self-discovery than romance. Besides the lacklustre romance, I also found the characters to be very passive and forgettable. Another reason that I was disappointed by Hooked was because the racism encountered by Fred was never dealt with directly. What I did like about Hooked, however, was that it explored Native American culture and featured golf (which I find incredibly boring) – two themes that haven’t gotten much attention in YA. 

Hooked was released in January 2013 by Harlequin Teen. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Harlequin Teen) for free via NetGalley. 
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From Goodreads: Cami Broussard has her future all figured out. She'll finish her senior year of high school, then go to work full-time as an apprentice chef in her father's French restaurant, alongside her boyfriend, Luke. But then twenty-year-old ex-Marine Julian Wyatt comes to live with Cami's family while recovering from serious injuries. And suddenly Cami finds herself questioning everything she thought she wanted. Julian's all attitude, challenges and intense green-brown eyes. But beneath that abrasive exterior is a man who just might be as lost as Cami's starting to feel. And Cami can't stop thinking about him. Talking to him. Wanting to kiss him. He's got her seriously stirred up. Her senior year has just gotten a lot more complicated ...

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins was a quick read that I’m still feeling ambivalent about (though it did leave me quite hungry). On the one hand, the characters had chemistry; and I really liked that they chose to pursue their own dreams rather than trying to adjust them for each other or anybody else. On the other hand, I found it hard to relate to the characters. I just never connected with Cami and didn’t like how she treated Luke. I also think I would have liked Julian more if Stir Me Up had included his POV as well. Overall, the best part about Stir Me Up for me was the characters considering options other than college after high school since this isn’t something that’s really emphasized in contemporary YA.

Stir Me Up was released by Harlequin Teen in October 2013. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Harlequin Teen) for free via NetGalley.

6 comments:

  1. I tried about 20 pages of Hooked before I realized that the story didn't go anywhere for me so I DNFed it. I'm glad I made the right decision. Your review of Stir Me Up reminded me of my reaction to Wild Cards which I liked until I started thinking about it.

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  2. I thought these were both NA's based on the covers! Anyhow, I actually like Hooked's description more than Stir Me Up. I think golf is boring too but I love sports in YA and I haven't read any about golf yet, so I'll keep my eye on it and I hope I'll like it more than you did,

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  3. Ehhh yeah... it doesn't surprise me that neither of these didn't really work for you (Stir Me Up sounds okay though). They wouldn't work for me either. Also, I'm tired of seeing those same two models from Stir Me Up on the cover of a bazillion books.

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  4. Stir Me Up has gotten so much praise, but I've been wary about it since most NA doesn't work for me. I'm on something of an NA kick recently though, so I still may give it a try sometime.

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  5. I read both of these, and can't say that I remember much about them now. Apart from the fact that they were quick and easy reads. Sometimes that's enough for me when I pick them up, but it would be great to be able to say that the characters or stories are memorable. Still, I'm glad you liked Stir Me Up more than Hooked, even if neither of these blew you away. Great reviews, Z. :)

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  6. Sad to hear that you didn't like Hooked that much. It's on my wishlist, but I think I won't be getting to it too soon now. Really like that you are keeping your Mini Reviews short...unlike me LOL.

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