Showing posts with label anna banks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anna banks. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Joyride by Anna Banks

Book Summary
A popular guy and a shy girl with a secret become unlikely accomplices for midnight pranking, and are soon in over their heads—with the law and with each other—in this sparkling standalone from NYT-bestselling author Anna Banks.

It’s been years since Carly Vega’s parents were deported. She lives with her brother, studies hard, and works at a convenience store to contribute to getting her parents back from Mexico.

Arden Moss used to be the star quarterback at school. He dated popular blondes and had fun with his older sister, Amber. But now Amber’s dead, and Arden blames his father, the town sheriff who wouldn’t acknowledge Amber's mental illness. Arden refuses to fulfill whatever his conservative father expects.

All Carly wants is to stay under the radar and do what her family expects. All Arden wants is to NOT do what his family expects. When their paths cross, they each realize they’ve been living according to others. Carly and Arden’s journey toward their true hearts—and one another—is funny, romantic, and sometimes harsh.
 

Flo's Review
So Anna tweeted a few weeks ago that she would be willing to send out an audiobook of Joyride in exchange for an honest review. I was all over that, of course! I love audiobooks and was super excited to snag one.

I am not really into talking politics, but this is a very interesting book to be reading during the current presidential election...! I'll just leave that there.

The only problem I had with the audiobook was that the guy reading Arden sounded like a 45 year old man and not a 17 year old boy. The girl reading Carly was great, though. I definitely found myself getting sucked into the story. For the majority of the book, I could not with Julio! Carly is a teenage girl and deserves some time to be a girl. She already had to grow up to fast and work too hard. 
There was a twist that I did not see coming, and then the end had me holding my breath along with our two main characters. Great pacing on that final scene, and a satisfying ending. 

Finally the line: "Do I have you like you have me?" <3 <3 <3  New favorite!

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Of Triton by Anna Banks


Flo's Review
I chose not to include the Goodreads summary as usual, because it is spoilery for the first book. I understand why it is that way, though, because this is a hard book to talk about without it: everything that happens in this book builds on what we come to learn throughout Of Poseidon.

This book picked up right where Of Poseidon ended, and I really liked that. Jumping right into the action started the story out as a short sprint for me, and it stayed that way throughout. I knocked this one in the span of one night and one morning and didn't even bat an eyelash. I didn't want to put it down. I didn't even think as I was reading, "Okay, I'll read until {this time}" or "I'll take a break after {this many chapters}." I just kept turning the pages.

In my review of Of Poseidon, I commented on Anna Banks' writing style and how it affected my reaction to the story. I have to say, I did not notice the short sentences in Of Triton. I don't know if it was because I was reading it as opposed to listening, like I thought might be the case, or because there was too much going on to linger on any one scene longer than possible. But it wasn't a problem with this book at all. Rayna was less annoying -- maybe because Emma came to understand her more. Toraf ...oh Toraf. My boy (I love him!) sent me on a roller coaster of emotions in this one.

The ending of this one was sad and sweet all at the same time, and I have NO IDEA what is going to happen to everyone in Of Neptune!

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom...

Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance. (from Goodreads)

Flo's Review
Happenstancely (I think I just made this word up, but I like it), a few days before I was planning to go to the Fierce Reads author event featuring Anna Banks, the audiobook of Of Poseidon was Sync's Free Download of the Week. It was pretty neat getting to tell Anna that I was listening to her audiobook when I met her that night. 

I listen to a lot of audiobooks and generally love them. With this one, however, I think I might have stumbled upon an audiobook flaw. From what I can tell by listening to the story, Anna Banks writes a lot of short sentences. I think this would probably be okay when you're reading something. (Thoughts?) But, unfortunately, when you are listening to short sentences piled on top of each other, it just sounds a little...choppy? My plan is to read the sequel Of Triton, and then I think I'll be able to tell whether I had a little problem with the writing style in general or the writing style as it translates to audio.

And I do mean a "little" problem. This was a cute story. I wanted to shake Rayna several times, but I think everyone does. I thought Toraf was just adorable. Galen and Emma are both dramatic types, so they are perfect for each other. And the twist at the end...I should have seen that coming, but I totally didn't! 

I'm eager to see how this all plays out in Of Triton!