Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

 Title: Finding Audrey

 Author: Sophie Kinsella

 Publisher: Delacorte Press

 Date Published: June 9, 2015

 Genre: Contemporary

 Pages: 304 (Hardcover)

 Age Range: 12+








                                                                          Summary:

     An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.


                                                                            Review:

     Finding Audrey was one of those books that you just couldn't escape earlier this year. Everyone and their grandmother has read this book, and a majority of people LOVE it so so so much. I admit, I got swept up in the hype, and read it, thoroughly expecting to love it because everyone else did, and it sounded like a book I would simply adore. I read it, and it fell short by a long mile. I think this is yet another instance of the Hype Machine making a huge deal about nothing special.
     The characters in this book were nothing special, and they were very cliched. I understand, and fully believe that cliches exist for a reason, but this book was supposed to break these kinds of molds. Audrey was very anxious, but she was also childish and immature. She never did a single thing that made me feel like she should get an award. Simply living with a mental issue, does not mean that she did anything out of the norm. Linus was just...blah. He was plain, and I've read a million other boy-next-door kind of types like him that I actually liked more. Audrey's brother had me constantly laughing, and I really liked him, but he was still super cliched.
     Besides the characters, the whole plot of this book was...meh. I truly appreciate that Sophie Kinsella accurately portrayed anxiety, but she really shrugged it off in the end.. Audrey was shoved WAY out of her comfort zone with very few repercussions, and certainly nothing of the caliber that we should expect. Besides, anxiety is very arresting, and I appreciate that Audrey had true symptoms, but they quickly dissolved into nothing.
     Basically, I disliked this book, but everyone LOVED IT. Honestly, I just found it too cliched, and I had issues with all of the characters. But really, it was funny, and I see why people like it so much.


                                           

Cyber Monday Sale!

The Darkest Light is on sale on Smashwords.com!!

Originally $2.99 - Now $1.50

  Just in time for the holidays! The Darkest Light is 50% OFF!! Today is the last day so don't miss out!  Visit Smashwords.com to purchase The Darkest Light as an eBook for $1.50 when typing in the code: CQ59Y. Then download the eBook to your reading device!

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Shadowhunter News: New Trailer Released

Calling all Shadowhunters! A new trailer has been released!

Who else is totally excited for this TV Series?! EEEEEEPPP!!!

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Black Friday Book Sale!

The Darkest Light is on sale on Smashwords.com!!

Originally $2.99 - Now $1.50

 Just in time for the holidays! The Darkest Light is 50% off as of today and until the end of the month (November 30th)! Visit Smashwords.com to purchase The Darkest Light as an eBook for $1.50 when typing in the code: CQ59Y

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Holiday Book Sale!

Ashley Earley's Blog: Holiday Book Sale!

The Darkest Light is on sale on Smashwords.com!!

Originally $2.99 - Now $1.50

 Just in time for the holidays! The Darkest Light is 50% off as of today and until the end of the month (November 30th)! Visit Smashwords.com to purchase The Darkest Light as an eBook for $1.50 when typing in the code: CQ59Y

Here is the link to the website: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/542697

I will be doing another sale before Christmas as well so stay tuned! :)
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Shadowhunter News: Shadowhunters Character Posters

   Shadowhunters is scheduled to air January 12th, 2016 at 9/8c on ABC Family/Freeform. And I'm so excited!!! 

Shadowhunter News: #Shadowhuntersposter (Shadowhunters Poster)

 Good news Shadowhunters! The poster for the show has just been released!!

 Since 2 o'clock, I've had to stare at this blurry picture and a percentage-calculator until #Shadowhuntersposter was trending and 50,000 tweets were reached. It was torture to the whole fanbase!!

  And here it is, Shadowhunters!!

Who else is ready for this show?? Only 53 days left! :D

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The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

 Title: The Spectacular Now

 Author: Tim Tharp

 Publisher: Ember

 Date Published: July 9th, 2013

 Genre: Conteporary

 Pages: 304 (Paperback)

 Age Range: 16+

                                                                           Summary:

     SUTTER KEELY. HE’S the guy you want at your party. He’ll get everyone dancing. He’ ll get everyone in your parents’ pool. Okay, so he’s not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men’s shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram’s V.O., life’s pretty fabuloso, actually.

Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee’s clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it’s up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper. But Aimee’s not like other girls, and before long he’s in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else’s life—or ruin it forever.

                                                                            Review:

     There are very few books that I read where I need a few more chapters, or at least an epilogue if not another entire book. The Spectacular Now is one of those rare little gems. It was very real, raw, and poignant- a painful read about a subject that really shouldn't be so painful to read about. So few books make me cry, and shake my fist, and pull out my hair, and cry some more, but the Spectacular Now made me do all of those things.

     First, the characters were incredibly flawed. Sutter Keely really is a good guy at heart, but he is a terrible alcoholic. I have never read a book that had so much alcohol in it before. Now the thing is, in YA, alcohol is usually presented at parties and in kegs. In the book, the alcohol was a very main element. Usually alcohol is portrayed in a negative light, girls get drunk and go off with strange men, boys trash the house and say things they shouldn't have. Through this all, alcohol is portrayed as a bad thing while it truly isn't. The people abusing the alcohol are the real problems,and this book kind of gently delves to the root of that.
     Amy is introduced as Sutter's opposite, and she never really stops being his opposite. He's a fun-loving guy, knows everyone, wants to a lot of people, etc. But Amy is much more reserved and quiet. It was fun to watch Sutter pry apart Amy's shell and watch her really come into her own. She was a girl that everyone can relate to,and I liked her character a lot.
     Now, as the book progresses, Amy falls into a downward spiral. She spins from being this straight-laced, uptight girl, to letting loose way too much. I really liked Sutter's character, but his character pulled Amy to be more like him in his attempt to help her. Then, he realized what he had done, and that miserable excuse for an ending came by.
     This book actually made me hurt in many ways. I hurt for Amy and Sutter's positions at first, and then I really did feel for Sutter. When he lost his job, my heart broke into a million pieces, and the ending made me cry a little bit. I loved the openness of the ending, and the overall feel because it just fit with the book, but I didn't like how everything wasn't perfectly resolved.
     I really wanted this book to end with a happily ever after (that doesn't happen too often), but instead I was left with an ending that made my heart hurt, and my eyes leak. I would definitely read this again, and since the movie has Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller, I will be watching it very soon!