Review: Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Title: Ten
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Series: No (unfortunately)
Finished or ARC: Finished
Source: Won

Goodreads:
SHHHH!
Don't spread the word!
Three-day weekend. Party at White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

Review: 
When reading the summary, it screams creepy. Almost Stephen King creepy. Thing is, the book wasn't--isn't--as creepy as you may think. It's just creepy enough to make you wonder why you are reading this book, what is going through Gretchen's head, and why isn't their a sequel.

The reason: It's the way the plot was and the motive behind all the killings that may send a chill up your spine. 

The whole plot of the book is centered around revenge for this one depressed girl who killed herself. Now as sad as it was to read about this girl, it was a little crazy what she wrote in her journal. Yes, she tired to fit in, but she also kinda made up a few things in her mind. Suicides are bad, but hers could have been prevented if she had talked to someone. 

To start off with the motive-plot, I feel that if this book was made into a movie, I would be totally scared but excited to see it. Reading it--yes, a bit creepy, but the book kept my interest going because I wanted to know who the a murderer was. Ten's one of those books that if you just want a book with no cheesy romantic crap and a standalone, it;s one to read. And it's hard to put down. And it's not too creepy that it gives you nightmares.

Meg, our main character, is shy, but very brave when it came to certain things. The thing I admired about her was that even though her best friend, Mimie, was a total bitch  towards her, she still stuck by her side. Takes a true ffriend to do that. 

Now, despite this, all characters weren't perfect, but they were just right to where they each caused tension, backstabbing, suspicion, and anger to come out to make the evil mastermind's plan work. It was genius and I wish I could think of something creepily amazing like this book. 

I said earlier that there wasn't any cheesy romantic crap--that doesn't mean there isn't any romance at all. There is. It's just regular teenage love where two girls like the same guy but one backs off because the other. I'm happy Meg gets the guy, and not just because of what happens to the other--Mimie.

At the end when the secret was revealed---oMG. Sorry to be such a girl, but it was shocking. From parts of the plot, I grew some suspicions on who was killing everyone. I was right, but when the murderer came out to Meg, I was shocked. At this point, it was 1:30 am, but I needed to know why. Man, it was good. 

The ending is a bit depressing, but it's a horror type book, so there isn't really a big happy ending. Yet, there was a small happy ending for Meg.

Rating and Cover:

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Review: Things I Can't Forget (Hundred Oaks #3) by Miranda Kenneally

Title: Things I Can't Forget
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Series: Yes
Finished or ARC: Finished
Source: Christmas gift. Thank you, Mom!

Goodreads:
Kate has always been the good girl. Too good, according to some people at school—although they have no idea the guilty secret she carries. But this summer, everything is different…

This summer she’s a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp, and she wants to put the past behind her. This summer Matt is back as a counselor too. He’s the first guy she ever kissed, and he’s gone from a geeky songwriter who loved The Hardy Boys to a buff lifeguard who loves to flirt--with her.

Kate used to think the world was black and white, right and wrong. Turns out, life isn’t that easy…

Review:
I'm not going to rave on and on about how much I loved this book. yiou can read my reviews of Catching Jordan and Stealing Parker to know how much I love Miranda Kenneally an her books. This book doesn't disappoint.

In the book, Katie is a very religious girl dealing with the gulit of helping a friend get an abortion, and the feelings she has towards Matt, which are a little more intense than she would like. Obviously, she has issues to deal with that really suck. 

In Stealing Parker, Kenneally addressed the issue of people discriminating against gay people and adults having affairs with minors and both affect everyone. She really pushed the issue out there, like she did in Catching Jordan with girls in football. In this book, she pushed the issue of religion and modern relationships to the limit. 

What I mean is that Katie, being very religious, dealing with the way sex is viewed in the world and in relationships and at her age. Today we know many media outlets involve sex somehow, and it affects the youths of today (no, I am not an old middle age adult. I'm 19, but if you heard some of the things I did from kids younger than me, you'd say this too). This means that kids are having sex at a younger age or are doing other stupid things. Katie believes marriage should come before sex and that it should be only a man and woman. She comes around to gay people and their lifestyle, but she struggles with this desire she has for Matt that makes things complicated. He wants to have sex, but she wants to wait, and she struggles to tell him. I feel that there are many woman like that today, even if media doesn't show it. 

One thing I liked a lot about Matt was that he understood Katie's desire to wait and didn't push her. I feel many breakups today involve a girl not wanting to put out. Even though it is fiction, this book could be very real, and it's nice to know that there are guys like Matt out there. 

I was happy in the end. From the beginning, Katie changed a lot and nothing felt fake about the plot. I think everyone should read this, especially young girls. 

Rating:

The Big Kahuna

Cover:

I love how they are holding hands!

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Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Title: Pushing the Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Series: Yes
Finished or ARC: ARC
Source: I won from someone

Goodreads: So wrong for each other …and yet so right.
No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. 

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible. 

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Review: 
I read this over a year ago and haven't put up the review. I know right? College sucks. I will say this, I should have read it sooner than when i did. I loved it. It had a lot of drama, which I can get at school, but there was a nice comedy relief that it was hard to put down.

First thing I'd love to point out is how real the book could actually be. PTSD is real, and how it is tackled in this book is amazing. And I love the rebellion from Echo--instead of burying it away like she has been taught, she let it out and took it head on.

Noah was amazing. Not the typical bad boy with a sweet side, but a bad boy who's fighting for something he needs to get over guilt. I loved how he comes to several realizations throughout his relationship with Echo, and that despite how things are, he is willing to take another look at reality.

The ending was great. It wasn't sad at all, and things were resolved. Am I going to get to read Dare You To any time soon? Probably not, given how many books I still have to read in my personal library, but I really want to soon. Stay tune for more reviews.

Rating:

 

Cover:

Love her hair, but it could have been better in my opinion.

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