Broken Hearts, Fences, & Other Things To Mend by Katie Finn

Page Count: 342

Published on: February 14, 2014 & May 5, 2015

Published by: Square Fish

Genre(s): YA, Contemporary, Romance

Source: Paperback

Age Rating: PG-13

Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon

Twitter: @morgan_m

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

Gemma had her summer all planned out, but it takes sharp turn when she gets dumped and finds herself back in the Hamptons after a five-year absence. Being there puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friend (that is, before Gemma ruined her life). But people don’t hold grudges forever. Do they? 

Gemma intends to make amends, but a small case of mistaken identity causes the people she knew years ago—including Hallie and her dreamy brother Josh—to believe she’s someone else. As though the summer wasn’t complicated enough already. 

Can Gemma keep up the charade? Or will she be found out by the very people she’s been hiding from?

~~~

Hey, guys!

      This book follows the very dedicated Gemma. Gemma's summer is turned upside down when she gets dumped by her long time boyfriend. Gemma is sent to the Hamptons with her father and ends up bumping into old friends. She ends up claiming to be someone she isn't and a bunch of drama occurs. 

      I found Gemma to be a really selfish and self-centered and overall annoying. She was always lying and although she tries to redeem herself, she keeps digging herself an even deeper hole. She had so many chances to redeem herself and to tell the truth, but she never took advantage of those moments! It was very aggravating...Even though I didn't like Gemma's behavior, I still really liked her as a character. 

      Hallie wasn't much better. I didn't trust her character and I didn't like her attitude throughout the book. Her brother, however, was a total sweetheart. I loved his character. He was such a sweet guy and I want a Josh. Gemma's best friend, Sophie wasn't the best character, but I thought she was really funny. I'm excited to read more about her in Revenge, Ice Cream, & Other Things Best Served Cold!

      I guessed part of the major plot twist early into the book, but there was another aspect to the climax that I definitely did not predict. When I finished the book, I had realized that Morgan/Katie had left little hints and scenes of foreshadowing to major plot points throughout the book. I thought it was really well written and I'm excited to read the second and third books. Although this wasn't the best book by Morgan Matson that I've read, it was definitely a fluffy contemporary that fans of Morgan Matson should read. 

Other Morgan Matson Reviews:

• Since You've Been Gone ~ 5 stars
• The Unexpected Everything ~ 5 stars

~~~

Don't forget to check out the LivTheBookClub read-along too! We're reading Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here by Anna Breslaw! 

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Happy reading, everyone!

Olivia

~LivTheBookNerd~

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The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

Page Count: 517
Published on: May 3, 2016

Published by: Bloomsbury

Genre(s): Contemporary, Romance, YA
Source: Hardback

Age Rating: PG-15

Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon

Twitter: @morgan_m

My Rating: 10/5 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

Andie had it all planned out. 

When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future.

Important internship? Check.

Amazing friends? Check.

Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks).

But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life.

Because here’s the thing—if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected. 

And where’s the fun in that?

~~~

Hey, guys!

      From July 3 until the 9th, a group of booktubers hosted the Biannual Bibliothon. During the bibliothon, there is a group book that they focus the live show on that they discuss. I was so excited that they chose The Unexpected Everything. I had just received TUE in the mail from an Amazon order that I had placed in the beginning of June. I had been anticipating this book ever since Morgan Matson had announced that she was writing it and released the cover art. This book is so gorgeous and the cover matches the cover of Since You've Been Gone which was one of my favorite 2016 reads. I went into this book blindly, and I had no idea what it was about. I just knew that it was going to be amazing because it was written by Morgan Matson. 

     While this book wasn't as good as Since You've Been Gone, it was still really really great. I really loved the characters that Matson created and I loved the relationships that developed throughout the book. The characters developed really naturally and I just loved the characters in this book. I'm pretty sure that Clark is my next book boyfriend...and he's the ideal nerdy boyfriend (in my opinion). He's so sweet and hard working and he writes fantasy books! I really want to read his books and I really hope Morgan Matson writes his story like Rainbow Rowell did with Cath's fanfiction Carry On. I'm crossing my fingers and toes that she does! I desperately need it! 

      At first, I didn't like Andie. I didn't like her and I especially did not like behavior when it came to boys. She had this obsessive focus the future. her future and she didn't focus on having the best life she could. She goes out of her way every day at all times to ensure that her father's reputation isn't tarnished by anything that she does. She doesn't allow herself to relax or be herself. Even when she hangs around with a potential boyfriend she talks about "safe" topics such as the weather and other boring and irregular topics. She'd rather just make out and keep it in her comfort zone. 

    Fortunately, Andie has an amazing group of girls that keep her from throwing away any fun that she could have. When Andie's summer suddenly derails, her friends support her and help her change her summer plans for the better. I loved how close they were and I loved that each character was original and each girl had their own personality which was really great. I also really loved that Toby and Bri were closer to each other than to the other girls. Each friend group has a couple girls that are closer to each other than they other girls. Usually, friend groups in YA books are all equally close to each other which is very unrealistic. 

     I also loved that Tom, Palmer's boyfriend, was included in their group. He was such a sweet guy and he just put up with the shenanigans that the girls put him through and I thought that was really sweet... OH and he loved theater! I just love that he didn't quite fit the "macho manly man" image, but he also didn't fit the "nerdy" image either. He and Clark bonded really quickly and whenever there was a scene that featured them I totally geeked out. (Clom!) Tom was a fan of Clark's books before they met, but once they got to know each other they became really close and I just loved their friendship. I want a whole book that is dedicated to their bromance...Their friendship is precious.

      I loved that this book wasn't focused on the romance, but was focused on the friendships and relationships that Andie developed. Andie's character, itself, developed really nicely throughout this book. The father-daughter relationship was everything that I could want in a father-daughter relationship. Her dad was so funny and driven. I loved his character. Palmer, Bri, Toby, Tom, and Clark were such great friends to Andie and I just loved it when they were together. (The scavenger hunt!) 

      The one thing that I didn't enjoy was that some bits were really predictable. I saw some of the plot twists coming, but the good thing was that Morgan Matson would add something that I didn't see coming at all. Because of that and because I enjoyed this book so much, I'm definitely giving this book 5/5 stars.    
If you follow me on Twitter, then you probably saw my fangirl-y tweets about this book and all of the read-a-thons that I've participated in. I've been tweeting more than usual because of these read-a-thons, so follow me to get all of those tweets!

Favorite Character: Clark
Favorite Ship: Clark x Andie
Characters I Want To Know More About: Tom, Palmer & Clark x Tom, Toby, Bri, Toby x Museum Boy

Morgan Matson Reviews

• Amy & Roger's Epic Detour ~ 5 stars
• Second Chance Summer ~ 5 stars
• Since You've Been Gone ~ 5 stars
• Broken Hearts, Fences, & Other Things To Mend ~ 5 stars (coming August 30)

Happy reading!

Olivia

~LivTheBookNerd~

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Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Page Count: 449
Published on: May 6th 2014
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Genre(s): Contemporary, Romance, YA
Source: Hardback: Library
Age Rating: PG
Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon

Twitter: @morgan_m My Rating: 5 stars







Goodreads synopsis:

It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.

On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?

Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger? Um...

Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane's list. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go skinny-dipping? Wait...what? 

~~~

Hey, guys!

     So I posted my March Wrap Up and April TBR List on March 30th, but I finished Since You've Been Gone on the 31st...I didn't think I would have, I finished my term paper early. And let me say, OH MY GOSH THIS IS PERFECT!!! I nearly cried in the middle of class (don't worry I had finished my work before I started to finish reading).

     At first, I thought SYBG was going to be a super cheesy cliche YA contemporary novel, but Morgan Matson really surprised me. This totally lived up to my expectations..maybe more...I loved it! I probably like Since You've Been Gone better than Amy and Roger and Second Chance Summer..yeah...SYBG has to be my all time favorite.

     SYBG follows Emily. Emily's best friend Sloane just up and disappeared at the beginning of summer and left Emily a list of things to do. This list of things are totally out of shy Emily's comfort zone, but she's determined to do them all to find Sloane again. Along the way, friend-less Emily reminisces about different moments in the past 2 years that she spent with Sloane. Along the way, Emily meets new people and experiences new things that open her up to a different world view.

     I love the character development throughout this book for Emily is so obvious and beautiful. I can relate to Emily on a personal level. She and I are really shy and I kind of rely on my twin sister's spontaneous-ness to kind of break the ice when I meet new people, but since I've met new people and had less classes with her this year, I've found that it's easier to make friends when you're being yourself. And that's exactly what Emily did, she put herself out there and tried new things. Emily is such an amazing character...and I love Frank and Collins and Sloane and I hated Sam. The characters were so fun and I can totally imagine the characters in real life.

If you love Morgan Matson's books you will love Since You've Been Gone! This book is so beautiful and so fun to read! I love it so much!


I'm currently reading: The Geography Of You & Me by Jennifer E. Smith

I just finished:  This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith 
and I will be putting up a review soon! 

UPDATE:

Since I'm on spring break this next week, I will try to post more, but when school starts back up I will go back to posting twice a week. :)

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

What are you currently reading? Comment down below!

Happy Easter guys!

Until later!
Olivia
~livthebooknerd~

Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr // Goodreads // YouTube // Bloglovin

@LivTheBookNerd on Books