Title: Lemonade Stand Economics 
Author: Geof White
Genre: Non-fiction, self help
Publisher: Lemonade Stand Economics LLC 
Publication Date: 1 August 2012
Goodreads Summary: The TYPICAL college student takes out student loans and works at a minimum wage job. Upon graduation the typical college student is handed a much deserved diploma as well as a huge student loan bill. The diploma lasts a lifetime, and it seems like the student loan payments do too! 


Paying for college is easy if you know what to do and how to start. It’s Lemonade Stand Economics.

{ Review }

Nowhere by Jon Robinson.

Title: Nowhere
Author: Jon Robinson
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Puffin Books
Goodreads Summary: 'No one's coming for us.
Not our families, not the police.
No one.'

Alyn, Jes, Ryan and Elsa are Nowhere. A concrete cube in the middle of a dense forest. Imprisoned inside are one hundred teenagers from all over the country. They're all criminals. But none of them remember committing any crimes. Who has put them there. What do their captors want? And how will they ever break free . . . ?

{ Review } 

Nowhere is about a group of teenagers who are all imprisoned in "Nowhere", a prison in the middle of a dense and snowy forest. One hundred teenage 'criminals' are being held there, but none of them remembering committing the crimes they've been accused of. Convinced that something is wrong, a group of prisoners band together to try and escape and figure out who's holding them prisoner, where and for what reason.

Nowhere is a relatively short novel with a sort of 'Hunger Games' feel. It's a rather sinister story as the reader is kept in. The dark about why the chasten are being held captive. There are a few chapters which give you a clue as to why these children have been imprisoned, but these chapters are short and infrequent. This is very disappointing as the reason appears to be something really fascinating and I wish the author had elaborated on these passages. I hope that the subsequent books go into much more detail about the reasoning behind their capture.

This story is written in the third person with each chapter focussing on a different person or a different time frame. The chapters are quite short making this a fast-paced novel that I managed to read in one morning.

One of the problems I found with this book is the lack of connection between characters. The chapters are so short that I feel like I didn't really get to know any of the characters very well or have any connection with them; hence, when things happened to them I just felt incredibly removed without much emotion at all to be honest. There are several main characters and although I could see threads of friendship (or more) between some of them, I still didn't really root for any characters.

All in all, this is a story that had great potential but it ultimately failed to fulfil it due to the lack of connection between characters and the general lack of depth or detail. This is a great shame as this really does seem like an interesting story and I sincerely hope that the story picks up in the next two books of this trilogy.

Title: Random Acts of Crazy
Author: Julia Kent
Genre: New Adult, Erotic Romance
Publication Date: May 21st 2013
Summary: I never intended to pick up a naked hitchhiker wearing nothing but a guitar. A guitar. Really. I don't collect guys like that (don't ask what kind of guys I do collect), but when you spot a blonde, tanned, sculpted man with a gorgeous smile and his thumb poking up and practically begging you to stop - you stop. And I definitely never thought I'd be staring into the bright blue eyes of Trevor Connor, the lead singer for Random Acts of Crazy, an indie rock star I followed like the slobbering fileshare fangirl I am. How he came to be nude and lost six hundred miles from home is quite the tale, but how we fell in love is even more unreal. Because someone like Trevor Connor, headed to Harvard Law next year, isn't supposed to want someone like me, a rural Ohio chick majoring in Boredom at Convenience Store University who is all curves and frizzy blonde hair and manners so unpolished they have sharp edges that make you bleed. But he did. When his best friend, Joe Ross, the bass player for Random Acts of Crazy and a man who makes Calvin Klein models look like Shrek, drove eleven hours through the night to rescue him, though, it got real complicated. It's one thing to like two different guys and be torn. What do you do, though, when maybe - just maybe - you don't have to choose? As my Aunt Josie says sometimes, "It's always complicated." * 
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Random Acts of Crazy Tour Stop! 
Guest Post by author Julia Kent

Today I'm hosting a guest post by new adult author, Julia Kent. The new adult genre has been growing and growing over the past few months so this is an interesting look at why this genre has rapidly gained popularity. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I do!

Title: Random Acts of Crazy
Author: Julia Kent
Genre: New Adult, Erotic Romance
Publication Date: May 21st 2013
Summary: I never intended to pick up a naked hitchhiker wearing nothing but a guitar. A guitar. Really. I don't collect guys like that (don't ask what kind of guys I do collect), but when you spot a blonde, tanned, sculpted man with a gorgeous smile and his thumb poking up and practically begging you to stop - you stop. And I definitely never thought I'd be staring into the bright blue eyes of Trevor Connor, the lead singer for Random Acts of Crazy, an indie rock star I followed like the slobbering fileshare fangirl I am. How he came to be nude and lost six hundred miles from home is quite the tale, but how we fell in love is even more unreal. Because someone like Trevor Connor, headed to Harvard Law next year, isn't supposed to want someone like me, a rural Ohio chick majoring in Boredom at Convenience Store University who is all curves and frizzy blonde hair and manners so unpolished they have sharp edges that make you bleed. But he did. When his best friend, Joe Ross, the bass player for Random Acts of Crazy and a man who makes Calvin Klein models look like Shrek, drove eleven hours through the night to rescue him, though, it got real complicated. It's one thing to like two different guys and be torn. What do you do, though, when maybe - just maybe - you don't have to choose? As my Aunt Josie says sometimes, "It's always complicated." * 

Purchase: Amazon Goodreads

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The First Time. 

The First Time is, unsurprisingly, about two teenagers and their first time. They meet in the alley behind a house party one night as Dave paces up and down trying to figure out what to say to the girl he likes and Aubrey waits for her friends who are no doubt hooking up with people inside. Conversation strikes up between the pair and when the cops show up they make a break for it and that is the start of their relationship. Aubrey has a boyfriend and Dave is supposedly in love with another girl but there seems to be a connection between the pair that develops quickly over the weekend. This film is basically about this pair as they try to figure out what (and who) they want in terms of sex and relationships.


This may seem like your typical, crappy teenage film but it was actually deeper than that. This film explores the minds of two teenage virgins and their thoughts and expectations of their 'first time'. This certainly isn't the best film and there were many flaws as you can expect from this sort of teen drama but I think it did do a fairly good job of portraying teenage thought patterns and the awkwardness of one's first time/first love. This is a very confusing time for most teenagers and this film doesn't glance over that fact. This isn't a teen rom-com where everything is fine and dandy, there are many bumps along the way as Aubrey and Dave try to sort their thoughts out. So, in terms of the main plot this film fulfilled its purpose.

At times I felt that the pace of the film was moving a little two quickly, as was the relationship between Aubrey and Dave. This entire film plays out over the space of one weekend though it seems a lot longer than that. This was probably the most unrealistic thing about the film and made it seem more like a teenagers fantasy, but everything else about this film seemed pretty real. This film makes you laugh and cry and cringe. It is incredibly funny at times, awkward teenage encounters are hilarious - especially when true and realistic, but it was also really poignant and sad at times.

I felt that the acting was absolutely brilliant in this film from the two main roles, most notably, Dylan O'Brien. He is most known for staring the nerdy best friend in MTV's Teen Wolf so he fitted the role of social outcast Dave really well. O'Brien was in his element and managed to bring across an extremely witty but kinda sensitive teenage boy. He's definitely portrayed as a good guy, but he's not perfect, he's still human, and that's what makes him all the more lovable. Nobody does awkward teenager like Dylan O'Brien and he is definitely the best thing about this movie. Britt Robertson didn't do a bad job as Aubrey either. Aubrey is not your stereotypical girl and for the most part Britt Robertson portrayed Aubrey's fiesty character well on screen; however, there were a few moments when Robertson seemed like she was trying to be one of those slightly 'indie' girls (these rare moments were only a slight flaw in the movie though).


All in all this film is full of awkwardness, laughter and emotion. A lot of teenagers will be able to relate to the one or both of the two main characters in some way or another and if you're the sort of person that likes these sort of coming-of-age teen movies then this is definitely for you. This is the sort of movie that critics hate but the public secretly loves. It's not the best film, but you can't help but enjoy it and feel your heart warm to it. There were a couple of twists that made your heart skip a little but for the most part this is a fairly predictable film, but name me a teenage drama that isn't. I would highly recommend this to teenage girls or anyone looking for a fairly lighthearted teenage film that can make you laugh out loud and cry at the same time.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

Title: The Song of Achilles
Author: Madeline Miller
Genre: Romance, War
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: 20th September 2011
Goodreads Summary: Greece in the age of Heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia. Here he is nobody, just another unwanted boy living in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles.

Achilles, 'best of all the Greeks', is everything Patroclus is not — strong, beautiful, the child of a goddess — and by all rights their paths should never cross. Yet one day, Achilles takes the shamed prince under his wing and soon their tentative companionship gives way to a steadfast friendship. As they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something far deeper — despite the displeasure of Achilles's mother Thetis, a cruel and deathly pale sea goddess with a hatred of mortals.

Fate is never far from the heels of Achilles. When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate.

Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.

{ Review }

The Song of Achilles is centered on two main characters: Patroclus and Achilles. Patroclus, a price, is exhiled from his home lands at a young age after accidentally killing a boy. He is fostered by Peleus, father of Achilles, and although Patroclus is at first ignored by Achilles and all the other boys fostered by Peleus, he catches the attention of Achilles and the two become great friends. The two, although a strange match (Patroclus is weak and skinny whilst Achilles is a strong and handsome demi-God), become almost inseparable and Achilles names Patroclus his companion (basically his right-hand man). The pair develop an interesting relationship (winkwink) and Patroclus follows Achilles wherever he goes. There is a prophecy which says that Achilles will be the greatest warrior of his time which has great significance throughout the story. The story spans over many, many years and the beautiful relationship between Patroclus and Achilles develops despite the other more turbulent plot lines in the novel.

I absolutely loved this book. I am a big fan of Greek mythology and books based on classical references and both of which are the core to this novel. This book surprised me a lot as the story unfolded with many different and unique plot strands weaving into each other and the story was about so much more than I thought it would be. I'm not a classics student therefore I can't say whether or not the classical references were exactly accurate, but the author doesn't alter what we already know about these mythological characters too much. The relationship between Patroclus and Achilles is slightly ambiguous and Madeline Miller's spin on it makes a fascinating story.

The relationship between Patroclus and Achilles is absolutely beautiful. I didn't think that I would be that great a fan of it (I'm not homophobic, just didn't think that it would work), but the love story between the two Greeks was simply mesmerising. Their relationship isn't sappy in any way, it's a relationship borne out of friendship that is really rather subtle and that's what makes it so beautiful. The love story is one of the biggest themes in the story, though it's more of an undercurrent rather than a piece of dramatic action. There were a couple of times when I doubted one of the pair's sincerity, but for the most part, Achilles and Patroclus had a deeply moving and heartbreaking relationship.

The plot of this novel has so many twists and turns that I had absolutely no idea what to expect. A lot of major themes are introduced in the first parts but aren't explored or don't come about until the second half so you feel this great sense of anticipation as you're waiting for events to unfold. That said, this book wasn't preditable in the slightest. Although there were a few major events that you could see coming, it's the minor details that you haven't even thought about that creep up and surprise you. Even if you think you know the story of Achilles already you won't be able to predict some of the twists that happen in this book.

All in all this is a poignant love story, I'd even go so far as to call it a a tragedy, as well as a hero's battle for glory. This book is written in such a beautiful way with such a brilliant and devastating story that you can't help but fall in love with the world the world and characters that Madeline Miller has created. I would thoroughly recommend this to all fans of mythology adaptations and even those who aren't! This is a must read tale.

Title: Addicted To You
Author: Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie
Genre: New Adult
Publication Date: 01.07.13
Summary: No one would suspect shy Lily Calloway’s biggest secret. While everyone is dancing at college bars, Lily stays in the bathroom. To get laid. Her compulsion leads her to one-night stands, steamy hookups and events she shamefully regrets. The only person who knows her secret happens to have one of his own.

{ Review }