Mini Reviews : If You Leave by Courtney Cole & The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram & Two Lies and a Spy by Kat Carlton

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : If You Leave (Beautifully Broken #2)
Author : Courtney Cole
Publication Date : August 6th 2013
Publisher : Forever
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26-year old Gabriel Vincent is a badass hero. Or he used to be, anyway. As an ex-Army Ranger, Gabe never thought he needed anyone. But after one horrible night in Afghanistan scars him in a way that he can't get past, he needs someone who can help him heal...even if he doesn't realize it.

25-year old Madison Hill doesn't need anybody...or so she thinks. She grew up watching her parents' messed-up abusive relationship and she knows there's no way in hell that she's ever letting that happen to her.

They don't know it in the beginning, but Gabriel and Madison will soon develop a weakness: Each other.

But Gabriel's got a secret, a hidden monster that he's afraid Maddy could never overcome... And Maddy's got issues that she's afraid Gabe will never understand. They quickly realize that they need each other to be whole, but at the same time they know that they've got demons to fight.

And the problem with demons is that they never die quietly.

Personal Thoughts

I wasn't the biggest fan of the first book, If You Stay, in this series, but I liked the premise of this book and wanted to give it a shot. If You Leave tells the story of Gabriel, an ex-Army ranger, who returns to the US from Afghanistan, emotionally scarred from the events of one brutal night. PTSD is a topic that intrigues me. My first encounter with it in books was in Something Like Normal by Trish Doller. Now, while I do not like to compare books, I went into If You Leave, expecting an emotional story similar to Something Like Normal. This book was emotional, but I didn't feel the full impact of Gabriel's feelings. I did really like Madison's character. She was strong, independent and didn't mince her words. The romance in this book was sweet, but like expected, it was full of obstacles because of Gabriel's PTSD. Part of me did think they fell in love a little too fast, but it never bothered me as much considering both their situations. What I liked about If You Leave was the involvement of the secondary characters in the lives of the main characters. Overall, this was an okay read, but it didn't pack that emotional punch that I felt it needed to make it an impressive read.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 3/5
Writing : 3/5

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : The Avery Shaw Experiment
Author : Kelly Oram
Publication Date : May 4th 2013
Publisher :Self-Published
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When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how—scientifically.

The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart.

Avery finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest.

Personal Thoughts

I was looking for cute contemporary books that I might have on my reader, when I came across The Avery Shaw Experiment. Now, I'm a huge fan of science and the idea of having it in a YA book really appealed to me. While at times silly, this book did manage to keep me smiling goofily throughout most of the story. I felt bad for the main character, Avery, when she found out that her best friend since before birth (their mothers were in the same yoga class for pregnant women) didn't reciprocate the feelings that she had for him. However, as the story slowly progressed, it was clear that Avery sort of had an obsession for him and I honestly couldn't see anything attractive in Aidan. She frustrated me at times because she kept pushing away Grayson, Aidan's brother who developed feelings for her, because she felt "guilty". I just didn't get that. She also let Aidan and his girlfriend put her down without saying anything. Fortunately, Grayson made up for Avery's lack of spine. He was a sweet, charming fellow and I really enjoyed him. He did turn a little cheesy when he found out he had feelings for Avery, but it didn't bother me too much. As far as the whole experiment goes, it was silly, but I expected that going into the book. Overall, this was a short, cute read that I had fun reading.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 3/5
Writing : 3/5

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Two Lies and a Spy (Two Lies and a Spy #1)
Author : Kat Carlton
Publication Date : September 3rd 2013
Publisher : Simon & Schuster
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Kari plunges into the world of espionage on a mission to save her parents while trying to impress the guy she’s been in love with forever.

When sixteen-year-old Kari’s dad sends her an unexpected text, she and her brother immediately go into hiding. Because when your parents are superspies and your dad declares a Code Black, it can only mean something bad. Very bad.

Kari soon discovers that her parents have been disavowed and declared traitors, and she’s determined to clear their names. Breaking into the Agency seems like a reasonable plan, especially with the help of a team that includes her longtime crush, Luke, as well as her two best friends—an expert hacker with attitude and a master martial artist—and Luke’s popular, vindictive twin sister. Oh, and a new guy, who’s as cute as he is complicated...

Personal Thoughts

I love a good spy book and Two Lies and a Spy caught my attention with its fun looking cover and the pretty awesome title. As soon as we enter the book, we are on an action-packed adventure along with Kari and an amazing cast of secondary characters. Kari was a main character who was a badass who was ready to do anything to help save her parents. What I liked mostly about her was her ability to think through any situation before making a decision. She was head-strong, level-headed and smart, which can be a rarity in YA heroines. As much as I loved Kari, it was her friends and little brother that made this book a success for me. I loved the interactions they had and they were so funny at times. As far as the plot goes, it was highly entertaining and it did take a turn that I didn't foresee at the end, which made me like this book even more. I have to admit that you have to suspend your disbelief and forget about logic when it came to this book, because it did have scenes that were over the top, but that didn't mean the book was any less enjoyable. There also seemed to be a budding love triangle, which I honestly did not approve of, but on the romance front, nothing much happened in the book, so I was able to forgive this book for it's love triangle. The next book will probably define it a bit more. All in all, if you are a fun of the movie Spy Kids or are looking for a book that is fun, entertaining and light, I recommend Two Lies and a Spy wholeheartedly!

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Plot : 4/5