#yaromance

Helena Swan x Seth Clearwater

Synopsis:

Helena Swan has lived a life most sixteen year olds would die for - had they only peaked at the surface and what was underneath. Having a suspiciously wealthy mother who traveled on whim and an outstanding intellect, she has no complaints. At least none worth listening to.

Her seemingly perfect life with her mother, Charlotte Swan, ends on a random Sunday afternoon when she comes home to her mother dead, apparently by suicide. Without any explanation or time to grieve, she's shipped back to her birthplace of Forks, Washington to live out the rest of her high school days under the care of her uncle, Charlie Swan, along with her older and very aloof cousin, Isabella, -the girl taking her breakup so hard you'd think she was the one with a dead mother instead of her. 

She settles in rather quickly if you'd ask her, making friends and even a new crush, it's as if she was never whisked away at the age of five by her fleeting mother. The bright eyed teenager soon finds that peace is hard to come by in Washington, figuring out the hard way after a damned night in the woods with an encounter she read about in stories as a child, her innocence behind her. 

"I thought you would be able to understand Bella's pain."

"I lost my mom...Bella got dumped by her boyfriend."

Character Aesthetics

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

spring speaks: 

things will obviously be different from the original story since smeyer is trash. i will be expanding upon the Quileute tribe and the cullen family won't be placed at the forefront of the book, for obvious reasons. this takes place during the events of new moon. the story will change a bit so I guess it's kind of an AU but, isn't that every fanfic? but it will mainly focus on Noa and the shifters and their family and friends and the reality of what the cullens arrival did to them and what they lost due to them. it will also deal with themes of grief and isolation and lost of a loved one. please be kind to noa, fictional character or not.

this also coincides with my other story, Thunder & Lightning, which is a Paul Lahote fic and takes place pre-twilight so if you'd like to read that as well, here it is.

Gilmore Girls fans! Pour yourselves a hot cup of tea and get ready to fall in love with this cozy YA romance that will have you dreaming of autumn all year long.

Fall is a big deal in Briar Glen, a quaint and charming village in New England. That's when tourists from all over the country descend upon this picturesque town to see the babbling brooks and colorful leaves while sipping hot chocolate or pumpkin spice lattes.

But sixteen-year-old Lucy Kane hates the uber-popular PSL. She finds it overrated -- especially when you consider the fact that there isn't even pumpkin in it! -- which is bad because she works at Cup o' Jo, the local coffee shop her mom owns. Business at Cup o' Jo hasn't been great in the off-season, but that's okay because it always picks up during the fall ...

Until Java Junction, a multinational coffee chain, opens across the street and makes things harder for the small shop. And to make matters worse, it turns out Jack Harper, the new kid in school and Lucy's secret crush, is the son of the owner. Suddenly, fall doesn't seem like it'll be all it's cracked up to be. Will Lucy find a way to save her mom's coffee shop?

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Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice Excerpt by I Read YA

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‘Some secrets aren’t meant to be told, because once they’re out, they don’t just destroy you. They destroy everyone you love.’

The Brothers Hawthorne Book Review 

You know, this book is pretty good! You might be taken aback by my surprise, but Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ series about the wealthy Hawthorne family has been fun at best and poorly characterized at worst.

The entire series has been carried on its entertaining elements: from the puzzles, riddles, and enjoyable (albeit predictable) twists and turns, only the plot and its labyrinthine lines has made these books enjoyable at all. 

However, this book tones down the puzzles and focuses a little more on the characters, a recipe that works really well for me and what I’ve essentially been begging Barnes to do since the first title, The Inheritance Games. 

This novel, called The Brothers Hawthorne, is a misnomer. It’s only about two of the brothers, Jameson and Grayson, leaving Nash and Xander as one-dimensional as they’ve always been. But hey, I’ll take it. Two brothers getting some characterization is better than the zilch we’ve been getting in previous books. 

The book alternates POV’s between Jameson and Grayson, chronicling different plotlines of them trying to solve two very different mysteries.

Jameson’s story follows a rather thin chain of events where he gets entangled with a secret club called The Devil’s Mercy. The club boasts clients of only the rich and powerful variety, a club that Jameson can’t help but be tantalized by. 

Jameson’s chapters simply follow him trying to get into The Devil’s Mercy, gain the attention of the man in charge, the Proprietor, and then solving a puzzle put forth by the Proprietor against other competitors for Vantage, a Scottish castle that belongs to Jameson’s estranged father. 

The focus on Jameson, for lack of a better description, is boring and ridiculous. It’s in my opinion that Barnes couldn’t think of anything better for Jameson to do than finding more rich people who are also hungry and who also love to play games. I like the bits with Jameson and his father, but there weren’t enough scenes of them.

Unfortunately, only a handful are sporadically sprinkled throughout the book. If there had been more of Jameson coming to terms with his complicated relationship with his mysterious father, it would have been much more interesting than anything dealing with The Devil’s Mercy. 

Grayson’s plotline, on the other hand, is handled with much more care and consideration. Even though the stakes are much lower (no Scottish castles or jumping onto bell towers) it's a hundred times more intriguing because I actually learned about Grayson’s emotions, his ties to his family, and his flaws. With Jameson, you kind of do, but it’s shallow and not nearly as deep as Grayson’s begrudging affection for his half-sisters. 

Grayson’s story essentially revolves around keeping the true nature of Sheffield Grayson (his father) dead and buried and away from his sisters. He sabotages their efforts in learning what happened to Sheffiled Grayson with the mentality of protecting them. However, the more time he spends with them, the more his affection—and his guilt—grows. 

While not the most novel of plotlines to exist, the emotions feel real at the very least. It’s the first time in the entire series where Grayson and Jameson feel like different, distinct people to me and not just pretty archetypes for Avery to agonize over.

Grayson’s family dynamics fascinated me much much more than any cockamamie game Jameson was playing in England because he’s constantly hungry due to an inferiority complex stemming from childhood. 

The relationships Grayson builds with his sisters and their mother, in addition to coming to terms with the fact that he’s not perfect and certainly not okay, is a heavier reckoning than Jameson trusting Avery with a secret that’s not that deep and not that interesting. 

Speaking of Avery, her bits were so painful that it hurt. 

Every time Jameson or Grayson mention her I wanted to retch. Her and Jameson are just so perfect together. Perfect to the point that it’s unrealistic and fake. Every time Jameson solves a riddle, Avery is right there with him, equal in terms of logic and intelligence. 

I get that Barnes wants to portray Avery as smart, but the idea that they’re completely and utterly synchronized every single step of the way feels so paltry and disingenuous that it makes me actively dislike any part of the book that contains both of them.

Jameson on his own is tolerable. Jameson “burning” for Avery and “breathing” for Avery is absolutely stupid. Thank goodness she was just a side character in this and didn’t have her own POV. 

Other than the complaints about Avery, The Brothers Hawthorne is an enjoyable read. Could the characterization be more complex and sophisticated? Yes. Is the plot pretty foolish and duplicitous? Yes. Is it more enjoyable than the last few books of the same series? Also, yes. 

Will I read the next installment? Unfortunately, yes. 

While The Brothers Hawthorne is a step in the right direction, these books are still more candy cotton fun than true substance. You know what though? Sometimes that’s okay. Not every book you read has to have an intricate plotline with heavy elements and intense characters. 

Sometimes books can just be fun. 

Sometimes all you want is cotton candy. 

Recommendation: The Brothers Hawthorne is probably my favorite book in the series since The Inheritance Games. If you’re still on the Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ bandwagon, don’t jump off now. Read The Brothers Hawthorne and enjoy the morsels of characterization that get tossed your way. 

Crumbs by Danie Stirling. Etch / Clarion Books, 2022. 9780358467793. 384pp. http://www.powells.com/book/-9780358467793?partnerid=34778&p_bt Originally published on Webtoon in 2020. https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/crumbs/list?title_no=1648&page=1

Ray is an ambitious young seer who goes to Marigold's bakery every Friday to get her favorite treat, a dessert filled with romance. Laurie works there (it's his aunt's place) -- he's a musician who very much needs to pass his test and get his license to fly his broom. After they talk, they bond over their attachment to their old model "phones," outdated devices that seem to have spirits in them and a lot of character. It's not too long before their flirting leads to dating, which is complicated by Ray's special ability -- unlike most seers, she doesn't see the future, but sees the present. This makes her very powerful, and almost certain to be named to the Council if she wants to pursue a life of service. But it also means that she gets insights into the life of anyone she touches. At some point it becomes clear she can basically see in to Laurie's life anytime she wants to, which is a bit weird (and made stranger still by the very reasonable fact that there are some things he wants to tell her in his own time). And then Ray has to decide what to put first, her career or romance.