Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When summer comes to an end, Kate Bailey is bummed she has to return to spending her days in a classroom instead of on the lake at her parent’s marina. Kate is a lake girl through and through and struggles to see herself anywhere else.
This year, however, is going to be all about getting Kate out of her comfort zone.
At the behest of her best friend, Alana, Kate has signed up for a podcasting class where she ends up becoming a cohost of an advice show of her creation.
Being such a private person, Kate prefers to fly under the radar, but she soon finds herself taking on a sort of celebrity persona around school.
Alana gets to be in marketing and we meet a few other kids in the class as well. Victoria, Kate’s cohost, is an absolute doll and her rival, Frank, adds a slightly sinister, bad boy element.
Stealing the storyline however is Alana’s crush, Diego.
Cute, cute, cute — this boy is even grabbing Kate’s attention. But Alana is her best friend and it’s totally against girl code to go after your BFF’s crush.
I mainly picked this book up because I had been told there was a strong podcast storyline in it. That is a big selling point for me.
I have never read a Kasie West but figured, why not? It sounded so cute and fun and it’s summer! The perfect time to pick up a book like this.
I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed listening to this story. Sure, it’s cutesy and sugary sweet but that is exactly what it marketed itself as and that is what I got!
There was miscommunication, drama, funny characters, a cook-off, great family dynamics — the list goes on and on.
I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a quick, adorable YA Contemporary read. I can also see people of all ages enjoying it. I will absolutely be picking up more of Kasie West’s books this summer. Really good stuff!
Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West — This YA Contemporary was recommended to me by a friend on Goodreads who knew that I liked books that contained mixed media elements such as podcasts, newspaper articles and journal entries. This is a story following a girl who ends up becoming the host of a high school podcast. Kasie West is a beloved YA Contemporary Romance author. I have never read any of her books and looking forward to giving this one a shot. I will be listening to this in audiobook format.
Call It What Your Want by Brigid Kemmerer — This is a YA Contemporary that releases on June 25th. I actually requested a copy of this ARC directly from the publisher, Bloomsbury YA, as Brigid Kemmerer is one of my favorite authors. This story follows two teens, Maegan and Rob, who are both going through a lot when they get paired together for a calculus project. I am sure a friendship or romance of some sort will develop between them as they try to help each other with their problems. Kemmerer’s writing is beautiful and she examines difficult topics with such care. Rob’s father in this is a white collar criminal so I am also interested to see how that plays out.
If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kahn — I received this ARC through a Goodreads giveaway from the publisher, Swoon Reads. I was so happy to hear I would be getting an advanced copy of this but as with life, I didn’t actually get to it before release day. This came out on June 4th so you can pick it up now! This YA Contemporary follows Winnie, a high schooler who works at her Grandmother’s Southern diner. She has big dreams but needs money in order to make them happen. Her solution is to compete in a cooking competition for prize money. This just sounds like a fun summer read and I am really looking forward to picking this one up!
While You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt — This chilling psychological thriller follows Zoe Adams, who fresh from America, moves into the McBride house on a remote Scottish island. The house has a mysterious and disturbing past and it doesn’t take long before Zoe begins to suspect something is seriously wrong there. This has the hints of a ‘things that go bump in the night’ kind of story and I am so down for that. I received an ARC copy of this from the publisher, Pegasus Books, but unfortunately, again, did not get to it before its March 8, 2019, release date. I am most excited for the location of this one and am hoping for a super spooky atmospheric tale.
Read your most recently acquired Contemporary
Read a diverse Contemporary
Read a dark or taboo Contemporary – Someone grab the tissues because for this challenge I am planning to read Adam Silvera’s, They Both Die At The End. This futuristic YA-Contemporary imagines a world where a company, Death-Cast, lets people know the day they are going to die. When Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio get their Death-Cast calls they both decide to seek a new friend for their ‘death day’. Using the app, Last Friend, they find each other and set out on one last adventure. I know this book is going to crush me but it has been sitting on my shelves for way to long and I need to get it read. My eyes fill up with tears just thinking about it.
Read a Contemporary in a non-traditional format – For this I am going to listen to the audiobook of Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch. I just read Love & Gelato by Welch last month and absolutely adored the humor and the topics of family and love that it touched upon. I am really looking forward to this one as it is set in Ireland, which if you know me, you know I am pretty much obsessed with.
I chose, The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware, to complete the ‘read a thriller’ challenge. If you read my earlier ‘Spookathon TBR’ post, you may remember that initially I had wanted to read Baby Teeth by Zoji Stage. However, that is NOT happening. I just won’t have the time. Now, I did read another Ruth Ware book a few weeks ago, The Woman in Cabin 10 which I rated 3.5-stars. While there were moments I did really like, there were also a lot that were mediocre at best for me. The Death of Mrs. Westaway is her latest book having released in May of this year and I have heard a lot of good things about it.
I am also currently reading, Stalking Jack the Ripper, by Kerri Maniscalco. This I had on my original tbr to meet the challenge, ‘read a book not set in our time period’. As this book takes place in Victorian London during the time of the infamous Jack the Ripper killings (1888), it perfectly meets that prompt. As luck would have it, and unbeknownst to me prior to opening the book, this also completes the ‘read a book with pictures in it’ challenge, as it has creepy old photos of London, crime scenes, medical abnormalities, etc. I am always a fan of killing two birds with one stone so I was very pleased to make this discovery. I started Stalking Jack the Ripper on Monday and have just over 50-pages left so may actually be finishing it tonight!
Read a Thriller: For this I am choosing, Baby Teeth, by Zoje Stage. This is an Adult Thriller that was released in July and I believe it revolves around a woman who thinks her young daughter is possessed. Who doesn’t love a story with a creepy kid in it, am I right? I really don’t want to know too much about this going in but I have heard some pretty good feedback on it. I have the hardcover of this which is 304 pages.
Read a Book with a Spooky Word in the Title: For this I have chosen, The Wicked Deep, by Shea Ernshaw. I bought this book when it was released in March and have been specifically saving it for this month. This is about a small town called, Sparrow, that is cursed since two centuries before they hanged three sisters for witchcraft. Apparently every summer these sisters return and lure boys of the town into the local harbor where they ultimately drown. You would think these parents would keep their boys locked up in summer but anyway, regardless of absentee parenting, I am really excited to FINALLY be getting to this. This gives me strong Hocus Pocus vibes and I live for that! I have the hardcover version for this book, which also happens to be my favorite book cover of the year, and it comes in at 308 pages.