Review- Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story by David Levithan

 BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s Tiny Cooper’s turn in the spotlight in this companion novel to New York Times bestseller Will Grayson, Will Grayson.

Jazz hands at the ready! Tiny Cooper (“the world’s largest person who is also really, really gay”) stole readers’ hearts when he was introduced to the world in the New York Times bestselling book Will Grayson, Will Grayson, co-authored by John Green and David Levithan. Now Tiny finally gets to tell his story—from his fabulous birth and childhood to his quest for true love and his infamous parade of ex-boyfriends—the way he always intended: as a musical! Filled with honesty, humor, and “big, lively, belty” musical numbers, the novel is told through the full script of the musical first introduced in Will Grayson, Will Grayson.

Release date: March 17th 2015

Published by: Dutton Juvenile

Page numbers: 208

REVIEW: 

Practically everyone who has read Will Grayson, Will Grayson by two of the most admirable authors of our times, John Green and David Levithan, has ended up loving Tiny Cooper more than the two Will Graysons. It was the same for me. I have said in my review of Will Grayson, Will Grayson that Tiny even beat Infinite Darlene from Boy Meets Boy for me. And that's saying something, because Darlene is just as epic as Tiny, if not more. My excitement for Hold Me Closer was up to the brim, and like any Levithan book, it lived up to my expectations. 

Hold Me Closer is the most fun book ever. Tiny Cooper is fantastic and fabulous topped with sparkles and lightning. In Will Grayson, Will Grayson, we got to see two sides of him where he is this daring, dashing and dazzling guy on the one hand; and on the other, he is a silent weeper who is very sensitive. Hold Me Closer, from the very beginning until the very end, is Tiny Cooper and only Tiny Cooper, and when you have that, it's bound to be fun and frolicky. 

The musical that adds so much to the plot of Will Grayson, Will Grayson came to life in Hold Me Closer. It's Tiny's life coming to life from the time he is born until the present day. Like any true musical, this one is full of laughter and tears, and a medley of emotions and feelings and that have the reader journey along with Mr. Fabulous and Fantastic all in one.  

Although Hold Me Closer didn't seem to blow me away in terms of its writing, David Levithan never fails to amaze me with the different style he picks up for each book and each character he comes up with. In that sense, Hold Me Closer was very unique and absolutely awesome. If you have loved or love Tiny Cooper, there's no reason why you wouldn't love his fabulously fantastic and fantastically fabulous life story presented in the most lovely way in this musical novel. 

Buy the book: AMAZON / FLIPKART

Review- Girl vs. Boy Band: The Right Track by Harmony Jones

Girl vs. Boy Band: The Right Track on Goodreads

 BOOK SUMMARY:

Talented but painfully shy eighth-grader Lark secretly writes feisty, heartfelt songs about her life-about school, crushes on boys, not getting along with her mom, and missing her dad who lives in Nashville. But that secret becomes harder to keep when Lark's mother, a music record executive at her own label, announces that British boy band Abbey Road will be coming to live with them while they make their first album!

Sharing her L.A. house with three noisy, mischievous rising stars isn't as glamorous as expected, especially when things aren't going smoothly with the band members. When one of them plagiarizes one of Lark's songs and passes it off as his own, will Lark gain the courage to step into the spotlight herself?

Release date: June 14th 2016

Published by: Bloomsbury

Page numbers: 228

REVIEW: 

Girl vs. Boy Band: The Right Track came in my Bloomsbury Bundle that I won on Instagram. Because it seemed like a short and sweet read, I decided to start with it immediately, and I'm so glad that it actually turned out to be a very short and sweet read that I enjoyed. I do like my share of Middle Grade once in a while, and like any MG book, this one too, was a perfect mix of drama, family, friendship and fun.

This is the story of Lark, whose father is a talented musician, but because he's always on the road and because her mom wants a career for herself, Lark is moved out of Nashville to L.A., where the country girl at heart seems to be getting more homesick each day. A natural at the guitar, songwriting and singing, Lark is terrified of sharing her songs with anyone, let alone performing them. This book follows her journey as a person and a musician and it was really adorable to read, especially her slowly but surely building love life, which was very cute.

Obviously, Lark is the girl in the title, but the boy band mentioned in it didn't disappoint at all. Lark's mother takes a British band called Abbey Road under her wings and she is planning on launching them. That means that Lark is forced to share her house with three annoying, noisy but totally cool and awesome teenage boys. The band members Aidan, Max and Ollie were wonderfully portrayed and both their journey as a band and as individuals was fun to read.

Overall, Girl vs. Boy Band: The Right Track is an adorable read that is very enjoyable as well. Author Harmony Jones has written a very cute book with wonderful characters and an interesting and gripping plot. I'm glad this is a series because I sure am excited to see what happens next. I'd definitely recommend this one to fans of MG and even others, because this book is bound to make a weekend good and memorable.

Buy the book: AMAZON (IN)

Guest Post- Top Ten Songs by Namrata

Hi, everyone! A few days ago, we had our post up for our fellow blogger and now author Namrata's book, Metro Diaries. You can check out the post here. Today, Namrata is sharing her top ten songs with us, so without much ado, let's hand it over to her. 

Top Ten Songs by Namrata

This is something I always wanted to do. but couldn't for reasons known best to me. I wanted to have 20 songs for each story. As music is a huge inspiration for me. For me every individual and every story is a song. :) 

Top ten songs I can think of right now are given below. Please don't mind they are across time eras and languages. In case you need them in only Hindi or English do let me know will change them accordingly. 

 1. Pehla nasha 
2. I am in love 
3. Baby.. I want you to love me the way that I love you 
4. Jab kisiki taraf dil 
5. Tumko dekha 
6. Mera kuch saaman. 
 7. Tu rang sharbaton ka 
8.kissa hum likhenge 
9. Etu velli poyindi manasa (telugu song) 
10. Ishq wala love

About the author:

Namrata is a prolific blogger known by the name Privy Trifles in the blogosphere who romances life through her writings and aspires to make love the universal language. She dons various hats between that of a contributing author to 8 anthologies a reviewer for leading publishing houses an editor to various books and a columnist. Apart from that she is also the editor for an online magazine called Writer's Ezine. Having mastered the nuances of finance till recently she also held the title of an investment banker closely to let it go to embrace her love for writing fully.

You can follow her @               

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We'd like to thank Namrata for stopping by our blog today, and writing for us. Also, thank you to TBC for making this possible. We hope you liked the post, and happy reading!

Review- Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh

Summary-

A bad boy wrapped in a sexy, muscled, grown-up package might be worth a little risk…

Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media’s harsh spotlight, she vowed to live an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker with a voice like whiskey and sin, and a touch that could become an addiction. 

A one-night stand with the hottest rock star on the planet, that’s all it was meant to be…

Fox promises scorching heat and dangerous pleasure, coaxing Molly to extend their one-night stand into a one-month fling. After that, he’ll be gone forever, his life never again intersecting with her own. Sex and sin and sensual indulgence, all with an expiration date. No ties, no regrets. Too late, Molly realizes it isn’t only her body that’s become addicted to Fox, but her heart…

Review-

I am a HUGE Nalini Singh fan. I have devoured her Psy-changeling and Guild Hunter series and loved every bit of it. So when I found out that she had written a contemporary rock star romance I was jumping with joy. The happy dance continued when I got to read an Advanced Readers Copy through Netgalley. It is no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed Rock Addiction.

Molly Webster is a librarian. After a horrific scandal in her childhood she has always followed the rules and tried to be good in every way. I really liked Molly. She was a sweet and simple girl but she couldn't deny the primal attraction between Fox and her. I also liked that Molly had her insecurities and didn't always believe how she could keep the rock star's attention all to herself.

Then we have Fox. He is the lead singer in a band called as Schoolboy Choir. Fox was an alpha male to the core. Once he set his eyes on Molly he didn't turn back. He used every trick in the book to pursue her and  make her his. Fox also had a temper and I thought that his impatience where some things were concerned just added to the rock star image.

Fox and Molly have a hell lot of chemistry from the first page itself. Things move very quickly and what was supposed to be a one night stand soon turns into so much more. I liked how Molly and Fox were quick in their physical relationship but slowly built their trust emotionally. They both tried to help each other with their issues and stood by each other. There was also some angst in this book which usually is very much toned down in Nalini's books. But in this case it made Fox and Molly's relationship more passionate.

I also loved all the members of the band. I hope David, Noah and Abe all gets books as each one of them has a strong personality. The cast of supporting characters was amazing and we can already see some relationships brewing. I'm overall super happy with this book and though I can't say it compares to her phenomenal paranormal books it was still a very good read.

*Note: A copy of this book was provided by the author/publisher through Netaglley in exchange for an honest review. We thank them.

Review- Finding My Forever by Heidi McLaughlin

Goodreads Summary: 

Everywhere I look, my friends are settling down - marriage, children, white picket fences; but not me. Marriage isn't in the cards for me. I’m a ladies man. 

A rock star. 

I was born and raised in the industry. 

I love everything about my life, especially the attention from the women that my status brings me. 
Women find me. I don’t chase. I know what they want and they know I’ll deliver. 

But after one look, one touch, one night... 
Now I’m the one doing the chasing. 

I need to find a way to show her that I’m serious, that I can change. 
I need to find a way to show her that I can love her fully, and only her. 
I need to find a way to show her that she’s my forever.

The Beaumont Series: 

Sarika's review of book #1, Forever My Girl

Sarika's review of book #1.5, My Everything

REVIEW:

I remember the time I read Heidi McLaughlin's Forever My Girl and fell in love with the story. I found the novella, My Everything to be pretty okay and after that I was a little out of touch with the Beaumont series. But thanks to my great buddies Janhvi and Aman (you can read her review of the book here), I recently read the super sweet second book, My Unexpected Forever just in time for the third book, Finding My Forever which I buddy read with the girls as our January Endless Read. 

Finding My Forever is the story of Jimmy, the third and final band member of 4225 West, the other two being Liam and Harrison; and Jenna, a Beaumont native who is friends with Liam's and Harrison's girls, Josie and Katelyn. Jimmy has had a disappointing and heartbreaking relationship of three years with Chelsea and he's been a complete player ever since while Jenna has been in an abusive marriage to her friend. It's pretty obvious about what happens when the two come face to face in Beaumont. There's lot of drama and spice and some really silly and stupid going ons that finally lead to a sweet ending. 

While I did enjoy the first 40% and last 30% of the book, the in between, that's from 40% to 70% really put me off because to rip off the band-aid and put it simply, it was shallow. Both Jimmy and Jenna seemed really stupid and a number of things came up at the wrong place and wrong time that really put me off. Things either took place too early or too late for my taste and that tends to get very annoying. Dependency, making someone else responsible for your happiness, becoming better for someone who isn't even in the world yet, not for yourself... Ah, I just cannot understand all that. 

It may seem like I didn't like this book at all, but it's not true. I did like many things about it. I liked how Jimmy was funny and how he changed for the benefit of those around him. I liked how Jenna had her venerable and weak moments that made her real. And I especially liked meeting all the other Beaumont people. 

Overall, Finding My Forever wasn't as good as the previous books in the series and it's a disappointment because this is an adult series that I actually enjoy and look forward to and maybe that's why I may seem a wee bit partial to it. When I discussed the story with the two girls, I realized that we all had a point in saying whatever it is we have to say about it. Nonetheless, the book was a good one time read that I enjoyed.

RATING:

Review- A Happy Accident by Evan Tyler

Goodreads Summary:

A Story Inspired by Steven Tyler: The first book in a three-part series

It happened by accident, a lottery of events…

In 1988, a blind seven-year-old lay in a hospital room longing for her mother, unaware that eight years earlier a chance encounter occurred that would shape her life.

American musician Bobby Carter moved to Manchester, England with one objective—to become a major player in the postpunk scene of the late Seventies. His quest for stardom steers him in the direction of Kindle Hyrum, whose feistiness is only exceeded by her raw beauty. Though Bobby’s steady pursuit trumps Kindle’s cheeky resistance—sweeping them into present bliss—past secrets, new temptations, and a series of hapless and happy accidents will determine their future...and the future of a blind child.

Set to the lyrical soundtrack of the 60s and 70s, A Happy Accident is a story of love and choice that transcends the ages. 

REVIEW:

*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of A Happy Accident from author Evan Tyler in exchange for an honest review. We thank Evan for the book! 

Ugh. Wow. It was right. It was wrong. I loved this book. No, I hated it. No, I didn't hate it. I loved it. I don't know. I really don't know. 

My friend Tanja @ Ja čitam, a ti? and I read this book together and it was fun. Thank you for the recommendation, Tanja and thank you, Evan for the book! I'm glad I read it along with someone or else I would have taken ages to read the book, given up on it or done something totally thoughtless.
I gave myself time to gather my thoughts after reading A Happy Accident. I couldn't gather my thoughts and I'm not even bothering. I've read plenty of books that have given me mixed feelings and I've settled on one feeling by the end. This time, I have mixed feelings. I can't decide. But yeah, it has got to be more love than hate or more hate than love. Damn. I don't know. I really don't know. One thing if for sure though- I can't get this story out of my head, which must mean I liked it.  
My review is just a confusing chatter. In spite of my lack of decision making skills, I have to admit that Evan Tyler's A Happy Accident is a beautiful story that is beautifully written. The author's writing is mesmerising and outpouring. The song lyrics were beautiful and I found myself highlighting a lot of quotes. And by a lot, I really mean A LOT. 

A Happy Accident was an interracial love story and that in itself might not be ordinary, but still it was an even more not ordinary love story. It was nails and hammers and bolts and screws. It was cakes and pastries and pop tarts and pancakes. I liked this book more than I thought I would. A Happy Accident is all about dreams and love and passion and when the time comes, making the choice between the three and it maybe wrong or it maybe right, that's left for us to find out. 

I don't know much about the 1970s and 1980s (I'm an early 90s kid) but I know for a fact that it was the time when music and freedom got a whole new meaning altogether and that generation is proud to be part of that generation. 
Kindle and Bobby are the same. Kindle is the daughter of a musician father who leaves her mother when he thinks that Kindle isn't his child. Kindle's mom, a nice lady, dies when her daughter is 18. Kindle takes care of herself and is a strong girl. Bobby is part of a band called The Dare. He comes from the States to Manchester to follow his dream of becoming a musician. Bobby is a staunch believer in love but his passion is music. When Kindle and Bobby meet, they get married. Yes, they only meet and get married and it was weird and reckless and unbelievable. But maybe that's how it was back then. And it was bound to be difficult. Everyone could see it except for the lovebirds. Kindle was a fine young lady. She was confused but she knew how not to depend on others. At first, I thought she wasn't supporting Bobby but yeah, she did love him. Bobby... I don't know if I love him or hate him. He fixed things and he ruined things. His love for Kindle was sweet and his passion for music was admirable. He loves and respects his family, but he can't be honest with them. He was a bit too much maybe. 
A Happy Accident was truly very beautiful but there were some things that I didn't understand and that didn't settle with me. It's a medley of mixed feelings. I was unable to think after reading this book and yet it was the only thing I thought about. It left me feeling a thousand things all at once. Damn. I don't know. I really don't know. But whatever it was, it was an accident for sure. As for happy or not, well, we'll have to find out. And maybe, maybe I just love this book because I've been told that I like weird things. 

RATING: