Review and New Release: Approximately Yours by Julie Hammerle

Title: Approximately Yours

Author: Julie Hammerle

Series: North Pole, Minnesota

Genre: YA Contemporary

Publisher: Entangled Teen Crush

Release Date: October 3, 2017

Author Bio:

Julie Hammerle is the author of THE SOUND OF US (Entangled TEEN, 2016). Before settling down to write "for real," she studied opera, taught Latin, and held her real estate license for one hot minute. Currently, she writes about TV on her blog Hammervision, ropes people into conversations about Game of Thrones, and makes excuses to avoid the gym. Her favorite YA-centric TV shows include 90210 (original spice), Felicity, and Freaks and Geeks. Her music playlist reads like a 1997 Lilith Fair set list.

She lives in Chicago with her husband, two kids, and a dog. They named the dog Indiana.

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My Review:

This was my second trip to North Pole, Minnesota, and I have to say, this one was even more fun than the last! I really liked Holly. She felt real to me. She's strong and outspoken and knows what to say to guys, but she keeps a protective wall around her at all times and assumes that people are going to hurt her. But, hidden behind Elda's cell phone, she's able to finally connect with a guy...Danny, the guy she's been crushing on since they were little. Only, it ends up getting her into big trouble. I had a lot of fun reading all their texts and gifs back and forth. The GOT references were SO great in this book. I was laughing my head off and kept thinking, "These are my kind of people." So clearly, Julie is also my kind of people. Julie? Why aren't we friends? After reading your non-acknowledgments/Airing of Grievances page I really felt like our friendship should be a thing, especially the parts about George R. R. Martian and avocados being so delicious and so expensive. I feel your pain.

I digress... Back to my review.

Elda was hilarious with her gorgeous body and awkward conversation. Her obsession with gross stuff felt so random and was fun. I feel like I missed out on her relationship with Dinesh though. I kind of wanted them to have their own book because they both seem like such cool characters.

And Craig. I LOVED that guy. Making his gingerbread people the entire Stark family made me giddy.  I want to see more of him. He needs his own quirky Throner chick. I'm just sayin'.

There were so many good parts to this book. I just want to read it over again because it went too fast, and I savored every moment of it. Thanks, Julie and Entangled for another yummy, fun read.

**Five Stars**

Review: Just One of the Boys by Leah and Kate Rooper

Blurb:

Alice Bell has one goal: to play for the elite junior hockey team the Chicago Falcons.But when she’s passed over at tryouts for being a girl, she’ll do anything to make her dream a reality...even disguising herself as her twin brother. With her amazing skills on the ice, Alice is sure she’ll fit in easily. That is, until she starts falling for one of her teammates...

Hayden Tremblay, star of the Falcons, can’t keep himself out of the penalty box. Constantly living in the shadow of his older brother, Hayden’s losing his passion for hockey. But when he gets shown up on the ice by the Falcons’ new rookie, Hayden’s determined to teach the kid a thing or two. Little does he guess that “Al’s” surprises on the ice are just the beginning...

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush title proves that wonderful things can happen when you’re brave enough to go after your dream. Dream hockey player, that is! Warning--a few locker room scenes are included.

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Author Bio:

Leah and Kate Rooper are sisters from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Growing up beside the Pacific Ocean and inside a temperate rainforest fed their sense of adventure as children, and nourished a curiosity for strange and distant lands. They fed this curiosity with books - lots and lots of books. After experiencing the magic of Middle-earth, they began creating their own worlds. When they're not writing, Leah and Kate spend their time blogging and vlogging about their travel adventures and their writing journey.



My Review:

This book was so fun! I got through it quickly. I'm a sucker for twin stories. I'm not a big hockey fan, but this book sucked me in and I felt as though I was Alice, getting my head into the game right with her.

It was fun to see how long it took for him to figure out she was actually a girl. I felt like that was a good move on the authors' part. Having her show up periodically as a smoking hot figure skater was a nice touch. I loved watching her teammates fawn over her. Hilarious! 

I enjoyed watching Hayden's growth as he and Alice grew into best friends. I think my favorite part was the Christmas scene where she goes outside to sit and talk with him about his parents' death. I enjoyed watching the growth of the characters and they changed throughout this book. They had both been through so much pain and had both been burying it. For me, that was the heart of this book. I love it that I can read a book that's silly and fun and leaves me giggling but also deals with characters who have real issues they need to overcome. Every Entangled book I get my hands on seems to have this element of growth with their characters and that along with the fast pacing and fun storylines is what keeps me coming back to Entangled Crush.

**Five Stars**

Review: Unfair Catch by Kelsie Stelting

Title: Unfair Catch

Author: Kelsie Stelting

Series: Savannah's Story 1 (Texas Sun Series)

Genre: Clean New Adult Romance

Blurb:

Get ready to fall in love all over again—with self-discovery, handsome cowboys, and the unbreakable bonds of female friendship.

After losing her dream job in Austin, Savannah Dondi has to do the unthinkable—move back to her small hometown. Living minutes from her parents and working in her aunt’s beauty parlor isn’t exactly the glamorous life she had planned.

When she sees Hudson McAllister at the local rodeo, he’s even better than she remembered. Tall, lean, and clinging to a bucking horse. She only wishes she’d held onto him so tightly.

Her misguided feelings for Rhett Lane had ruined it then, and if she doesn’t stop herself from falling back in love with Rhett, he’ll come between her and Hudson this time too. Avoiding him in a small town will be hard, though. Especially since their best friends are in love.

A second chance with Hudson would make all her troubles worth it, but resisting Rhett might be more than Savannah bargained for.

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Author Bio:

Kelsie Stelting grew up in the country in Western Kansas, where she gained an appreciation for agriculture and developed her love of writing. She is also passionate about her faith and starting honest conversations about mental illness. In May 2015, she graduated summa cum laude from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in Animal Sciences and Industry, and she will soon graduate with a master’s degree in Agricultural Communications from Oklahoma State University. She will continue exploring the world with her husband and writing works of fiction and nonfiction.

Please visit kelsiestelting.com to stay in touch!

My Review: 

When I first started reading this book it felt like your average, run-of-the-mill New Adult Western story about a girl returning to her hometown and facing the hotties she used to date and all the memories and drama that came along with it. I was sucked in immediately by Savannah's emotions and felt as though I were seeing the world through her eyes. I felt her pain and longing as she confronted these two important guys from her past. Her hometown felt so real to me. I could imagine all the people and all their lives. Kelsie did a fantastic job painting Savannah's world. I liked it that Savannah messed up and then had to live with the pain of her mistakes and learn lessons from them. I was biting my nails as she interacted with Hudson and Rhett. The suspense was killing me! Other characters made mistakes as well. A teen drinks and then has to live with the ugly consequences of getting totally smashed. I loved it! The scene was perfectly cringeworthy! 

And then church is brought into the story. TOTALLY unexpected and SO refreshing. It's not this in-your-face-conversion kind of thing. It's just part of their lives. It really bugs me that religion is so absent from books. So, well done, Kelsie for weaving it into your story. Because let's be honest, how many readers go to church or at least have been at some point in their lives? It's a huge part of our culture. You still see it in movies all the time. Someone's confessing to the priest or lighting a candle in a church. But books? Hardly ever anymore. And that bugs me. It's something that I'd like to see more. 

I loved watching the characters change and grow and overcome their past hurts. It was so beautiful to read. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I'm looking forward to reading the second one!

**Five Stars**