Release Date: December 8,2015
Book:The Trouble with Destiny
Author: Lauren Morrill
Source: Netgalley ( I received this in exchange for an honest review)

The Basics:
It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey...


With her trusty baton and six insanely organized clipboards, drum major Liza Sanders is about to take Destiny by storm—the boat, that is. When Liza discovered that her beloved band was losing funding, she found Destiny, a luxury cruise ship complete with pools, midnight chocolate buffets, and a $25,000 spring break talent show prize.


Liza can’t imagine senior year without the band, and nothing will distract her from achieving victory. She’s therefore not interested when her old camp crush, Lenny, shows up on board, looking shockingly hipster-hot. And she’s especially not interested in Russ, the probably-as-dumb-as-he-is-cute prankster jock whose ex, Demi, happens be Liza’s ex–best friend and leader of the Athenas, a show choir that’s the band’s greatest competition.


But it’s not going to be smooth sailing. After the Destiny breaks down, all of Liza’s best-laid plans start to go awry. Liza likes to think of herself as an expert at almost everything, but when it comes to love, she’s about to find herself lost at sea.

My Musings:

To be quite honest with you I didn't think I was going to like this book. I thought it was going to be a cheesy romance filled with cliches. I don't know why I picked this book to be honest but I did pick it up and I'm happy I did.

Now I wasn't totally wrong about this book being cheesy. It is. Very much so. But please don't let that deter you from reading the book. There's a lot more to it than romance and unrealistic scenarios. The writing style, while not special, creates the  interesting and laugh out loud voice of Liza. I think it was her voice that made it easy to relate to her. She's neurotic, nerdy, and sarcastic. I think the voice of the story is a large part of why I really liked the book.

Furthermore, characterization is pretty good. We get to see Liza go through a lot and she proves to be really strong but oblivious. I love Liza, I feel like if she went to my high school we would be friends. She's very real and you get to see multiple levels. But I feel like she's the only person we get to see on multiple dimensions. Most of her friends serve to help the plot or the smaller issues within the story line. I honestly think that this was the biggest problem with the book and the reason why it felt cheesy. You only got to see one side of most of the characters, which I guess makes sense considering that the plot only really revolves around a few people. However, eventually you get to see different side to Demi, which was predictable but nice to see all the same. I think that because this book is as much character driven as it is plot driven, characterization was focused on Liza.

That being said, I really did enjoy the book. The plot was funny, cute, and most importantly relatable. I actually really liked the plot. I thought it was such an amazing journey. Liza had her eyes set on the prize and honestly I really admired for dedication to the band. I was rooting for Liza the entire time, really hoping that the band would win. Romance, however, was just as important as the money needed to save the band. The romance was cute and all but I wasn't the biggest fan of it. It was predictable and to be honest you say one side of it for the entire novel. Then all of a sudden the other realizes they have feelings for the other. Like I said there were a lot of cute moments and I do ship them, I'm just not the biggest fan of it. As for the band plot, I really liked it. I liked the rivalry, the drama within the band, the way Liza fought for her band. This aspect of the story was on point and I did like how the romance was intertwined with the main part of the plot.

Overall, it was a good book. It was cheesy but the good kind. The romance was cute at times but not my favorite. I did like Liza and I loved how realtable she was. It was a good story if you want a nice fluffy read.

Coffee for this book: Machiato

Top Ten Tuesdsay

As a YA addict, I love a good romance to fangirl over. If done right, It will make the book that much better for me. If done terribly, i'll probably dismiss the novel as cheesy. So without further ado here are my top five things I hate when it comes to romance and five things I like. 

My Dislikes

1. Insta-Love. This is my all time, I can't even deal, this is too terrible, why is this even happening pet peeve. I hate it. Insta-love is so boring, so unrealistic. It honestly sucks. I like feeling invested in a romance. I want to ship it, I want to be excited for the characters when they go on a first date. But that's not going to happen if they met and .5 seconds later they are madly in love. Now, Insta-attraction is okay. When two characters meet, think the other is cute. Talk, maybe even go out. Insta-Love is when they meet and they're heat skips beats, and they feel like the met the one after exchanging one sentence.It just happens too fast making the romance underdeveloped and pretty much just a story point, instead of being a highlight or even focal point.
2. Underdeveloped Romance. This always makes me sad, because i'll be all invested, fangirling over a couple and the author will put the relationship on the back burner and they never move forward. They get stuck in this one stage until the author is ready to pick up the romance again. I get why sometimes it happens. Especially when the plot is really cray, but it's still frustrating.
3. When Its too cheesy. There's a fine line between being cute and being cheesy. I guess it can be pretty hard to discern because one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to romance when everything feels like it's overdone.  It's okay if you travel to cheesy land every once in a while, but please don't make a permanent residence. 
4. Bad Communication. This makes for such a frustrating read. Romeo and Juliet is a perfect example. If they were less hasty and were able to communicate better then maybe they wouldn't have died. Or Insurgent. I mean could Tris and Tobias have worse communication skills. Literally one of the most frustrating books. All I wanted was for them to be happy, but no, they were hell bent on not talking to each other. 
5. Overdependent Characters. I always dislike when strong characters, typically girls, fall in love and suddenly they become all dependent and damsel in distress-y. Or when characters get put into relationships because they feel like they can't have too strong of a character. (Glee is a perfect example. Whenever one of the girls is doing well, they always need to have a man. No matter how strong, how independent they always get shoved with a guy.It's annoying). 

My Favorite Aspects

1. Hate at first sight. Not really. I love when characters at first don't really like each other, but then see the good in each other and fall in love. This is part of why I LOVE Mara Dyer and Noah Shaw. It just adds dimension to the relationship.
2. Love Triangles. I have a love hate relationship with this, but honestly it adds so much to the book as well as suspense and crazy shipping and yeah...
3. Best Friends to Boyfriend/Girlfriend.  I think this is so cute. If done well, this can be super cute and just amazing. I love how this happens in The Body Finder. It so cute, I can't even deal.
4. When it's NOT the focal point. As much as I love romance, I love when it's not the entire plot. I like when it's a part of the plot but not the most important thing. 
5. Funny + Love. I love when characters are put into funny situations, or they're just funny people. It makes the romance cuter and much more shipworthy. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Things we Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Release Date: April 21,2015
Book: Things We Know by Heart
Author: Jessi Kirby

The Basics: After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all. Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas—a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they're connected—but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost…and all that remains at stake.