Reviews written by Tara Gonzalez

I really enjoyed Vengeance Bound by Justina Ireland. I’ve read a few books that have the furies in them, but I thought Vengeance Bound was a really unique. Even if you’re exhausted by Greek Mythology in YA, I definitely recommend picking up Vengeance Bound – it wasn’t like any Greek...

I’ve been kind of on a paranormal kick lately, which almost never happens to me. And Furious by Jill Wolfson is a great addition to my latest reads because not only is it paranormalish, it’s a Greek mythology retelling, so bonus points for that. I recently read...

My feelings on Black City by Elizabeth Richards are a little hard to explain. Black City is an interesting dystopian kind of book, but with a vampire population (although they’re called darklings rather than vampires). And I loved the first hundred pages or so of Black City....

I’m a huge Sarah Ockler fangirl, and while Bittersweet wasn’t as heartwrenching as her previous books, it was adorable and moving and a lot of fun. As someone who has never seen snow before, reading a book about ice skating and winter and snow and all of...

Between You & Me by Marisa Calin is a kind of a ballsy book. There were a lot of risks taken with Between You & Me – and a lot of subjects discussed – that are usually overlooked in young adult literature and I really admire Marisa Calin for that....

Oh my, Between Shades of Gray is an absolutely stunning book. It left me so utterly drained. It’s not an easy book to read, but one that’s certainly worthwhile. Lina’s story broke my heart. She went through so much and Between Shades of Gray kept piling it...

I’m a big, big fan of historical fiction. But I’ll be honest – I don’t know much about the history of Scotland. I haven’t even seen the movie Braveheart (although I’ve heard that’s not historically accurate, so, you know). So I was pretty excited about The Betrayal of Maggie Blair...

I went into Belles by Jen Calonita expecting it to be a light, cheesy book that had been done a few times before, but still expecting to enjoy it. I mean, I read her other series and while I enjoyed it, there wasn’t much to it. But guys, colour me...

If you’re a fan of fun, romantic contemporaries with a huge focus on music (and who isn’t?), definitely do not miss Being Friends With Boys by Terra Elan McVoy. I loved Charlotte, the protagonist. She was snarky and hilarious and talented. And while I was COMPLETELY overwhelmed...

Ahh, The Beginning of After seriously made me tear up. I probably would have cried too, if I hadn’t read the entirety of it in very public places – between classes and before work. The Beginning of After such an intensely emotional book and I just felt like curling up...

Beautiful Days is an absolutely dazzling book – page after page of glamour and drama. I felt transported to the 1920s whilst reading it. I was Letty, I was Cordelia, I was Astrid – I was wearing sequined dresses and going out to night clubs every night and flying in...

Bad Taste in Boys is utterly hilarious. It sort of reminded me of Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. Carrie Harris knows she’s writing about a book zombies infecting a high school and how silly (but awesome) it all sounds, and therefore, she didn’t write the book to be all serious and...

I was very much looking forward to Babe in Boyland for several reasons. Number one being journalism. As the former Editor-in-Chief of my high school newspaper, I am total newspaper geek. Seriously. How could I not be? And high school newspapers are almost never featured in YA books. Why is...

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick was absolutely FANTASTIC. It was all kinds of creepy and gruesome and horrifying and utterly riveting, and even a bit romantic in certain parts. You might look at the 480 page count of Ashes and be deterred. But let me just say...

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons kind of snuck up on me with how freaking good it is. I wasn’t sure I was going to get around to Article 5 for a while, but then I offered to trade it to someone, so I kind of had to pick it up....