How are you all this fine Sunday morning readers? I am back after a huge weekend out with the girls, so perhaps I am a little worse for ware this morning but I am here none-the-less!

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme bought to you by the lovely Kristi at The Story Siren.

I am generally going to say no.. because let’s face it, us as humans always love a story of good triumphing evil. And pretty much anytime the story DOESN’T finish that way it usually cops flack for not finishing the way we expected it to anyways! lol

But then it depends on your take on what a villain is. For example, I know people who absolutely HATED Jacob in Twilight, and more or less treated him as the villain. Did I want him to win in that story? YES! But in my eyes he wasn’t the villain so it’s all about perogative.

“Many of us primarily read one genre of books, with others sprinkled in. If authors stopped writing that genre, what genre would you start reading? Or would you give up reading completely if you couldn’t read that genre anymore?”

I would never give up reading just cause one genre wasn’t around anymore! I mean, I go through stages of what I like, and my tastes never stay entirely with one genre anyway - it changes over time. I went through a major dystopian phase during the first half of this year. If I couldn’t get a dystopian novel anymore? Hmm that’s fine.. I might move on to something like contemporary, which has kind of been what I am reading at the moment anyway!

Synopsis: Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew-just in time for Amy’s senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she’s always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy’s mother’s old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she’s surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road-diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards-this is the story of one girl’s journey to find herself.

Review: I felt like I really was on the road trip with Amy and Roger! The places they saw, Yosamite, the diners, the pictures, receipts from places they went, track listings on what they listened to in the car - Morgan Matson really bought this book to life in a way where you would describe this as an experience rather than just a book.

I would love love LOVE to do the exact same road trip from California to Connecticut. And since I am not from the US, I truly can say I learnt a lot about the culture and differences from state to state… things like the small down diners, the lonliest road in the US.. it made me really want this as an experience.

As I am off to the States in May these types of books have me SO hooked right now. It’s exciting to think that I’ll experience some of this myself for real shortly… but the book totally captured the feelings that come along with a road trip, especially Amy’s willingness to be spontaneous and live a little, even if it meant that there would be repercussions later down the track. I absolutely loved Amy and really related to her a lot in this way.

I particularly loved the growth we saw in Amy during the journey. Going from a young girl who was hiding herself away from the rest of the world, quite happy being a wallflower and not being noticed, to someone who in some ways was forced to confront these things and come into her own (including Bronwyn throwing out her clothes and replacing them with new ones, the whole sunglasses issue she has, and of course being fearful of driving again after what she’s been through). It was absolutely endearing.

The relationship between Amy and Roger going from virtually being strangers to what it blossomed into was beautiful. The awkwardness at the start.. having to share a bed when they barely knew each other, and then slowly as you’re reading you start to notice how they become more familiar, they know each others favourite drinks and foods and idiosyncracies. It’s actually really adorable! The progression of their relationship throughout was timed perfectly, and by the end you’re chomping at the bit for them to get together already!

Roger is the ideal travel companion in my opinion. He is hot, he is kind, caring, has awesome taste in music (I listened to some of the listed tracks whilst I read the book) and he’s a little vulnerable as well because of what his ex Hadley has done to him. Maybe it’s just me, but a wounded man can be pretty sexy (as long as he gets his stuff together in the end!) and so I can honestly say I was crushing on Roger right throughout!

What a great debut novel from Morgan Matson. I really want to know more about what happened to Amy and Roger. Sequel? Please?

Rating: 5 out of 5

It’s Wednesday! Which means it’s time to tell you what I have been up to for the last week! W..W..W.. Wednesdays is a weekly meme bought to you by MizB from Should Be Reading.

What are you currently reading?

I am over halfway through Amy & Rogers Epic Detour which is AMAZING! I am hoping to finish it tonight actually!

What did you recently finish reading?

Saving June by Hannah Harrington which was an absolutely fantastic read! Yes, I am into road trip books right now! haha This book did not disappoint either.. the review was posted yesterday so check it out.

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter I think and then probably Anna & The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.

Synopsis: Harper Scott, trying to come to terms with her perfect older sister June’s suicide, takes a road trip and finds love with a mysterious boy who had a connection to June- and may know more about her sister’s life and death than he’s telling.

Review: This book is one of those types that get you intrigued very early on in the book and continue to command your attention throughout. It was an absolute page turner!

Harper’s sister June committed suicide and Harper is left not understanding why she did it. Her divorced parents are fighting over June’s ashes and plan on splitting them in two and keeping half each. Harper - feeling like June wouldn’t have wanted this decides that she is taking the ashes to California (a place that June always wanted to go to) to scatter them.

Whilst the book starts off looking like it’s a story about grief.. it’s about so much more than that. Harper plans on going to California with her best friend Lacey, and then she meets Jake - a friend of her sisters who insists on driving with the girls to California.

What starts out as a story about life and death becomes the ULTIMATE road trip story (complete with song lists at the back if you feel so inclined!) about self discovery, and building relationships, and all the other types of drama that come with being a teenager.

One thing I really loved about this story was it felt so true. It didn’t feel contrived at all - it was honest and raw at times, but it was true throughout which as a reader that is a little bit older, I truly appreciated where it was coming from. The characters had so much depth that I could truly imagine them whilst I was reading.

This story ultimately whilst based on a girl trying to come to terms with the loss of her sister is also a romance, and a story about friendship, families and life on the road!

LOVED this book, if I had a rating system higher than 5 it would be scoring even higher.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Good morning readers! I am up bright and way to early this Sunday morning (especially considering I had a big night last night and may or may not have been a bit intoxicated - the jury is still out on that one).

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme bought to you by the lovely Kristi at The Story Siren.

Hrm… I am going to go with Torment, which was the second book in the Fallen series.

Just a warning that this contains spoilers!

I just really hated the ending because I felt like it came out of nowhere but then it also really didn’t explain themselves. This battle just took place randomly… who are the outcasts meant to be? That was never really explained. What did they want? And what on earth was going on with Luce at the end? I am guessing Luce is short for Lucifer? I mean, that would annoy me if it was that obvious. But anyways. I just didn’t enjoy it.

Asking for me to change it to something else is another matter. I am more one of those people who will complain but never offer a solution. :P lol

“What are you most looking forward to this fall/autumn season – A particular book release? Halloween? The leaves changing color? Cooler temperatures? A vacation? (If your next season is other than fall/autumn, tell us about it and what you are most looking forward to in your part of the world!)”

Well here in the land down under it is spring (finally!) which means an end to our cold winter weather, which I hate! And it also means that daylight savings is not far away either, which is an added bonus!

I have almost a month off work from October 7 - November 1st, so I am looking forward to doing NOTHING except reading and relaxing during that time!

Bigger picture beyond spring though, is that I am in the middle of planning a 21 day trip to the USA right now! I am going to be there from May 9th - May 30th and I am seeing LA, Disneyland (for three days!), Vegas, NY, Washington DC, Boston & New Jersey. I am SO excited! Flights are being booked this week. So I guess that kinda falls into this season since all the planning and booking is happening right now. :)