Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

" Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn't seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she's coming to terms with her father's death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road -- diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself."-GoodReads.

Paperback, 352 pages

Published May 10th 2011 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing 

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour started out great. Right off, I felt connected with Amy. Her father was killed in a car accident and Amy is having such a hard time dealing with it, especially since she believes she is to blame. That is a lot to deal with.

With her mother already in Connecticut Amy has to drive their car from California to their new house all the way across the country. Thing is, Amy doesn't drive. Enter Roger. He is coming to her rescue and driving the car for her, all she has to do it co-pilot and tell him how to get there. 

A road trip story. A perfect summer read. Or so I thought. As I said before, the book started off great. I loved all the playlists and little tidbits about each state Amy and Roger went through. Amy was very believable as someone who was wounded. Roger....well, I'm still not sure what to think about him.

He is described as very good looking (of course, fictional boys must never be 'average'), almost unattainable in Amy's eyes. It's not until a scene that he puts on his glasses to do some night driving that she says it helps make him look a little dorkier...less perfect. I guess looks is where his perfection stopped because I just could not really get into him. Roger would be funny and entertaining but then he would get all crazy and bring up his ex-girlfriend...who he has been obsessively calling and trying to figure out why she left. I started getting a bit creeped out. They hadn't even been together that long. I just could not get him. 

The secondary characters, all the ones that were introduced into the story while they were on the roadtrip, were pretty neat and added a great element to the book.

*WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK AND DO NOT WISH TO KNOW THE ENDING SKIP THIS PART AND HEAD STRAIGHT TO THE END WHERE THE ASTERICKS ARE*

Okay, so normally I really try to keep all of my reviews spoiler free. But the ending of this story really bothered me and I need to vent somewhere. And I would like to know if anyone who has read it agrees with me.

As previously mentioned, I wasn't a big Roger fan...he's just a bit too much for me. Throughout the book I could tell that Amy liked him a bit and at times Roger flirted with her but it never seemed like that much. The blossoming romance was a bit lost on me. I mean, they were driving in the same car for what, 10 days? And all of sudden Amy is saying things like Roger is making a face only she would recognize the meaning of? Well...that happened in the middle of the road trip. So after knowing him for all of 5 days she really knows what he means when he looks a certain way? Or says something in a certain tone? I don't think so.

But the thing that pissed me off is when Amy finally started feeling strong and happy again pretty much the first thing she does is (*highlight to read only if you really want to see a huge spoiler*)jump in bed with Roger.*

Again...only knowing him for 10 days...seems a little soon for that. 

But then it gets even better! After getting back out on the road she thinks they are all happy together...WRONG AMY! You are not. He's not even sure what he wants. Roger states very clearly that she needs to "let go of being the navigator and let things take their course". 

*jaw hits floor* What....the....HELL?!?

Bitch move, Roger....(pardon the language).

Strangely, Amy is okay with that? Again, I don't think so. After everything she has gone through and doing that was her way of breaking out of her shell and then he bails on her...she would have been an emotional wreck.

*************************

END OF SPOILERS (and rant).

I was sorely disappointed in the ending of this book. It could have gone out with such a bang...but it was even less than a fizzle for me. I think I sat at my desk trying to decide if the ending really ruined the rest of the book for me, or if I would ever be able to read it again, and the answer ended up being yes the ending ruined the book and because of that, no, I wouldn't be able to read it again.

If you have read this book, what about you? Did you like how it was ended? How did what happened work for you and made you enjoy it?

Leave a comment, I would love to hear your opinions. 

BUT, try not to be spoilery...and if you have to be, be kind and put a warning.

Let's Have A Giveaway.

That sounds like a good idea right?
Yes, I thought so too.

The basics:
Starts now. Ends July 8th. Winners will be notified July 9th and will have 48 hrs. to get back to me or new winners will be drawn. You must be 13 years old or older to enter.
This giveaway is US only.
There's nothing to fancy you have to do (except fill out the form). No extra entries or following required.
Winners will be chosen by random.org

So what books are being given away?

 

A hardcover copy of Nightshade.
I know the new cover has been released but I do love this cover so much. And the deckled edge on the pages. Everyone needs a copy of this pretty-ness on their bookshelf. And the story is just as awesome as the cover.

And also, a paperback copy of Vampire Academy. This series is so amazing. I was seriously depressed when I finished Last Sacrifice. I could not believe it was over. Even more than that, I CANNOT believe people still have not read this series! It is one of my favorites so I figured I would spread the VA love.




I know that most giveaways are of new or upcoming books, but I don't think we can forget past greats. And both of these were definitely pretty great.

So if you would like a chance to win one of these books, fill out this FORM.


Good luck!

City Of Glass by Cassandra Clare

"To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight. 

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her new found powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost?"-GoodReads.

Hardcover, 560 pages

Published March 24th 2009 by Margaret K. McElderry 

The third installment of The Mortal Instruments series is most definitely worth a read. For me, this is a series that gets better with every book.

Put together action, drama, romance, humor, more action, and some really great plot twists and you get City of Glass.

Clary and Jace are still trying to deal with everything that has happened to them in the very recent past with some all new problems added to the mix.

It may be just me, but I love reading books where people have really big, supernatural, possibly world ending problems. Makes me feel like my every day problems aren't so bad.

The characters that I loved from the first two are back and better than ever. And some new characters are introduced, as well.

Best part though, hands down, is that you finally get to 'see' the City of Glass.

The descriptions are pretty awesome. Cassandra Clare has a really great way of showing rather then telling...if that makes sense. 

If you have not yet started this series, get on it. The forth one, City of Fallen Angels, just came out and the fifth, City of Lost Souls, will be out May of next year. So now would be the perfect time to start this series!

In My Mailbox (#12)- The 'I Need To Stop Buying Books' Edition.

In My Mailbox is a bookish meme created by the wonderful Kristi over at The Story Siren for bloggers to feature books we got over the past week, either bought, borrowed, or received in the mail. Make sure to go check out her main post.

As usual, this is a little over 2 weeks worth of books.

                                                 For Review:

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Bought:

But I Love Him by Amanda Grace

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

Seeing Red by Frank Beddor

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

This World We Live In by Sarah Beth Pfeffer

Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Yeah, I need to do a little more reading and a lot less buying for now. So for at least a month...or 15 books...whichever comes first, no more buying books. Sheesh this is going to be hard.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Spring Into Summer Read-A-Thon!

This post is to announce to the world that I'm participating in the Spring into Summer read-a-thon hosted by Enna Isilee of Squeaky Books!

This read-a-thon is going to be so great! It's two days where you try to do NOTHING but read. It's a great chance to get rid of some of those books that have been sitting on your TBR pile forever.

But that's not all! There will also be awesome mini-challenges and a TON of giveaways! In fact, just for signing up you are entered to win a $25 gift card to Amazon! SO GO SIGN UP! And if you say that Jessica from the Firefly Book Loft sent you, you'll get 5 extra entries to win that gift card! CLICK HERE to enter to win, and know all there is to know about the read-a-thon.

Here's my goal:

I plan to participate on: BOTH DAYS
I plan to read: At least 2 books...hopefully more than that though.
I hope to read: Since it is a summer read-a-thon I am thinking "The Summer I Turned Pretty" by Jenny Han and "The Truth About Forever" by Sarah Dessen. But! I reserve the right to change this...and add more if I actually get these done.

Well, have you signed up yet? DO IT NOW!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

ARCs for sale.

  I'm back! Finally after moving and my birthday I was able to find some time to start getting caught up on my posts....which is really good as I am about 2 weeks behind in them.
Originally I planned on just starting up with reviews again, but I thought of something else yesterday I wanted to post about.

 Normally I buy most of my books from stores like Borders so that authors can get revenue from it, ya know, so they can keep writing and all that. But every now and then I do love going to Half Price Books. As much as I hate it, I have to sometimes act like the adult I am supposed to be and have to be frugal with my money. Saving for a new car and a house can put your pocketbook in a bit of a bind. So Half Price Books is where I turn to when I want a new read at a price I can afford.
Yesterday, while I was out running errands with my mom, we stopped at HPB so  I could sell some old books that I had and did not need anymore. While the sales associate was figuring out how much to give me I went to browse the young adult section. And much to my surprise I found books that were not even out yet.
Yep, I found about 8 ARCs, many of them not even coming out til later this year.
Now, as I said before, my husband and I are saving for a house, so we understand how every extra penny helps, but when a book clearly states "Not For Resale" and it still gets sold instead of shared, it makes me upset. Especially since HPB was charging $7.98 for each of them. These books are supposed to be free and passed around by bloggers and other readers.

I'm at a bit of an impasse though. As much as I wanted to buy those ARCs, mostly to get them off the shelves so that when I was done with them I could send them to someone else who wanted to read them, I just could not justify having to pay for them. Especially not 8+ dollars.

So I would like to know what you would do. Would you buy them and pass them on when you are done? Or leave them there? Tell me your opinion.