Book Review: Reasons I Fell For The Funny Fat Friend by Cassie Mae

Book: Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend 
Author: Cassie Mae
File Type: Ebook
Release Date: January 8th, 2013
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

synopsis:
Written by Cassie Mae under the pen name Becca Ann

It’s stupid to fall for your brother’s ex. It’s even worse to enlist another’s help to win the ex over. But Brody is desperate and Hayley, his partner in American Sign Language, is more than willing to lend him a few tips. 

She’s the school’s matchmaker,’ and with her bizarre and positive personality, Brody finds her easy to talk to, even about the most awkward situations. Hayley’s tips seem to be working, but as Brody learns more about his matchmaker, he starts finding reasons to spend time with her, and not the girl he thought he was in love with. 

But Hayley isn’t ready to fall for anyone. Labeled the “Funny Fat Friend” within her group, her self image makes it impossible for Brody to share his feelings without Hayley shrugging it off as a joke. 

Convincing her Brody can, and did, fall for the “Funny Fat Friend” turns out to be harder than simply falling in love.

Reasons I fell for the 'Reasons I Fell For The Funny Fat Friend'.

1. I felt like I was suspended in a delicious mix of chocolate, chocolate and chocolate. Everything was so sweet and nice.

2. It's always nice to see a guy appreciate a girl in each and every way. Right from those warm hugs to the way she talks and the way she walks and her way of looking at life and handling it and the way he feels with her and the way SHE makes him feel. *sighs*

3. If a guy says that he craves you in the least creepiest and the cutest way possible. MARRY HIM.

"I press my forehead against hers, locking her in my gaze. “You are so beautiful. Inside and out. I don’t just need you. I crave you. Everything about you. You are the only person I’ve felt this way about. You’re my best friend.”- Brody.

4. If his craving doesn't convince you, then this definitely should, "Reason 13: I'd beat the crap out of my own flesh and blood for you."

5. "Reason 23: You're as horny as I am."<----Am I the only one who finds this funny? This book was hands down hilarious and equally adorable.

6. A romance like this has always been my fantasy and to see it play out this way made me extra gooey and happy!

Now, you see. Brody is the kind of a guy an average girl generally dreams of. One that doesn't judge you. One that stands by you no matter what. One that bears your wrath even when both he and you knwo that it's your fault. Also,he's hot. (Apparently he has abs and pecs and he's tall. So physically he's a homerun.) That being said, he's your everyday guy. He's horny. He's insecure. He's bored. He stares at a girl's bum and even admits it. He's a cliched dirty-room keeper. But, he's cool. To him, it's what inside that matters and this is something he realizes along the course of the book. Right from the beginning we know that he has the hots for his brother's ex-girlfriend and when Hayley decides to mentor him and help him, he soon realizes that what he feels for Hayley is so much more than what he feels for the girl he's behind. He finds amazingness in her bizarreness. He appreciates her perception. He is responsive and it was all so very real. His thoughts made sense. If he thought that Hayley was an irresistible hot-mama, then she was! HE made me believe in everything he said and in everything he did. I loved this guy!

Now for Hayley?
Since this was from Brody's POV and I was deeply infatuated with him so I couldn't think about anything else. So sorry, Hayley. Though, I will say this that I appreciated their dynamic and since a relationship is a two-way street, thank you Hayley for being fantastic.

TRIFFTFFF (God.) , was fast paced, engrossing and I finished the whole book in one sitting! I was enjoying the ride and I just didn't want to let go of it. It's not the best contemporary book I've come across, but for a rainy day or ,at least for me, any day in general, it's a treat to read.
With a hilarious tone to the book with tons of cute elements, The Reasons I Fell For The Funny Fat Friend is a total winner!

Sex and Violence by Carrie Mesrobian

Sex and Violence by Carrie Mesrobian

Publisher: Carolrhoda LAB     
Publication date: October 1st 2013
My rating: 4.5 star

AT FIRST YOU DON'T SEE THE CONNECTION.
Sex has always come without consequences for seventeen-year-old Evan Carter. He has a strategy--knows the profile of The Girl Who Would Say Yes. In each new town, each new school, he can count on plenty of action before he and his father move again. Getting down is never a problem. Until he hooks up with the wrong girl and finds himself in the wrong place at very much the wrong time.
AND THEN YOU CAN'T SEE ANYTHING ELSE.
After an assault that leaves Evan bleeding and broken, his father takes him to the family cabin in rural Pearl Lake, Minnesota, so Evan's body can heal. But what about his mind?
HOW DO YOU GO ON, WHEN YOU CAN'T THINK OF ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER?
Nothing seems natural to Evan anymore. Nothing seems safe. The fear--and the guilt--are inescapable. He can't sort out how he feels about anyone, least of all himself. Evan's really never known another person well, and Pearl Lake is the kind of place where people know everything about each other--where there might be other reasons to talk to a girl. It's annoying as hell. It might also be Evan's best shot to untangle sex and violence.

I was sitting here for 41 minutes, staring at the screen, trying to figure out what to say about this book. What to say to make people want to buy it and read it? Should I beg? Please, please, read it!  

The story starts of with Evan being a know-it-all and a ladies man. He knows how to get a girl to sleep with him and one day it all goes terribly wrong when SPOILERS  two rednecks beat him up severely and the girl gets gang-rapped. After that Evan can't even shower because everything brings him flashbacks. His father moves him for the nth time to a small city of Pearl Lake where he's forced to meet new people and heal. 

Even though Evan starts of as one of those arrogant guys who think they're better than everyone else, he quickly changes and we see his another side. He still thinks about sex a lot and he's still mentally undressing girls. 

Female authors don't usually write in a male perspective because most of the time it doesn't seem authentic. But while reading Sex and Violence I felt like the author did portray Evan as a real teenager, not something she thinks a horny teenage kid sounds like. She also did a wonderful job with other characters. At times it was like she put something of her own life in the story, some small detail or an opinion about certain things, like hating small dogs. 

While I was reading I though to myself. Trish Doller, the author of Something Like Normal would like this book. And then I saw she wrote a blurb for it. So weird. I'm glad she read it and all you people who loved Something Like Normal, pick up Sex and Violence when it gets out! You won't regret it! 

Playing Tyler by T.L. Costa

Playing Tyler by T.L. Costa

Publisher: Strange Chemistry    
Publication date: July 2nd 2013
My rating: 3 stars

When is a game not a game?
Tyler MacCandless can’t focus, even when he takes his medication. He can’t focus on school, on his future, on a book, on much of anything other than taking care of his older brother, Brandon, who’s in rehab for heroin abuse… again.
Tyler’s dad is dead and his mom has mentally checked out. The only person he can really count on is his Civilian Air Patrol Mentor, Rick. The one thing in life it seems he doesn’t suck at is playing video games and, well, thats probably not going to get him into college.
Just when it seems like his future is on a collision course with a life sentence at McDonald’s, Rick asks him to test a video game. If his score’s high enough, it could earn him a place in flight school and win him the future he was certain that he could never have. And when he falls in love with the game’s designer, the legendary gamer Ani, Tyler thinks his life might finally be turning around.
That is, until Brandon goes MIA from rehab and Tyler and Ani discover that the game is more than it seems. Now Tyler will have to figure out what’s really going on in time to save his brother… and prevent his own future from going down in flames.

Tyler's suffering from ADHD but he refuses to take medication because his brother a heroin addict and he's seen what it can do. He's not doing great in school and the only thing bringing him happiness is playing computer games. He gets an offer he can't refuse and start helping Rick, former pilot with his secret government job,  piloting a drone which is flying over Middle East and getting rid of terrorists. 

Ani is one of the best gamers in the world and she was the one who designed the drone program. Tyler and Ani have an instant connection and they start dating even though it's against the rules. Ani soon starts noticing some strange activities within the program and shares the news with Tyler. Together they try to get out of the mess they help build.  But how can you fight a secret organization? 

What I liked about Playing Tyler is the main character, Tyler. Since he's not good at school he works hard with the program. He needs to convince himself he is more than other people think he is. He is a fighter and I can't help but root for him to do well. Tyler and Ani were so sweet int he beginning of their relationship. Who hasn't had an awkward faze when they start seeing someone? 

I would recommend this book to guys or people interested in the world of gamers and aviatics. 

Book Review: Insignia by S.J Kincaid

Book: Insignia
Author: S.J Kincaid
File Type: Paperback
Release Date: July 10th 2012
Publisher: Hot Key Books 


Synopsis:

More than anything, Tom Raines wants to be important, though his shadowy life is anything but that. For years, Tom's drifted from casino to casino with his unlucky gambler of a dad, gaming for their survival. Keeping a roof over their heads depends on a careful combination of skill, luck, con artistry, and staying invisible.

Then one day, Tom stops being invisible. Someone's been watching his virtual-reality prowess, and he's offered the incredible--a place at the Pentagonal Spire, an elite military academy. There, Tom's instincts for combat will be put to the test and if he passes, he'll become a member of the Intrasolar Forces, helping to lead his country to victory in World War III. Finally, he'll be someone important: a superhuman war machine with the tech skills that every virtual-reality warrior dreams of. Life at the Spire holds everything that Tom's always wanted--friends, the possibility of a girlfriend, and a life where his every action matters--but what will it cost him?

Gripping and provocative, S. J. Kincaid's futuristic thrill ride of a debut crackles with memorable characters, tremendous wit, and a vision of the future that asks startling, timely questions about the melding of humanity and technology.

Total Science Love.

I'm not a fan of Science Fiction. I've always been a contemporary nerd or in same cases a total fantasy junkie. I'll be honest, the last time I read a book from a guy's perspective in the science fiction genre was...when I was in middle school. And even then I hadn't liked what I had read. But Insignia was such a refreshing read.It was pure science fiction. Pure action. And in right words, the best book for a guy.

Just before I started reading this book, a friend of mine had borrowed this book from me. He is one of those guy friends of mine who find my choice in books totally ridiculous. He's an idiot, I tell you. But he's a good friend and I trust his opinion. Anyhow, there have been times when I've begged him to read a book and later he comes back to me with a totally annoyed face but this time it was totally different. This time he managed to say a few nice words to me about my choice and did not backstab our friendship with nonsensical accusations of me having a horrible reading taste. He even said that this book was awesome.
And I agree.

THIS BOOK WAS TOTALLY AWESOME.

Insignia is fourteen year old Tom's story in a technologically advanced world where the World War III is in heavy procession between a coalition of countries that are supported by Multinational Companies that now hold the control of basic resources. What's best is the fact that this war is being fought not on earth but in Space! And why? Because of environmental concern, of course. These wars are fought by teen soldiers who basically fight using neural processors installed in the brain that help control different machines and ships that are then used to fight. Which basically means a Virtually real experience. Do I make sense?
Oh well. We'll have to make do.
Moving on..ah yes! Now, Tom is a really classy gamer and he's beaten the best of bests.So he has a pretty good reputation. Following this he is recruited to be trained to be a soldier, but when he steps into the training program he learns about mindboggling things. Things he never thought were true and things he never imagined was possible. And that's pretty much how the book begins.

I feel another good thing about this book is that it makes sense. There weren't times where I was left hanging and where I needed to even debate with the original concept of the book. I just went along with it and was lost into it. This was so interesting! I couldn't put the book down! The first few chapters were kind of a drag but later it picked up pace and I was so into it. The only issue I had was with Tom's age, I think. There were times when I was reading and I just couldn't let the fact that this guy was fourteen out of my mind. And it kept on gnawing at my head. But I had made up my mind that I wouldn't let this fact bring me down and so I had continued.

I feel Tom was a really nice protagonist. I wanted to get inside the book and squeeze him hard into a tight hug. He was so cute. Think about it yourself! An adolescent guy with his gaming obsession and hormonal emotions. How can he not sound cute?
Along with that, the other characters were a treat to read about.
There was Tom's bestfriend Vikram. There was Wyatt. There was Yuri. There was Medusa. And a whole bucket of other characters that made the book what it was.

I'm not sure. Maybe it was because this was a total surprise to me or maybe because it genuinely is amazing, because it is. I feel everybody needs to give this book a try. But it's only if you can overlook the age of the protagonist and the little immature things fourteen year olds do. But it would be fun and I think that's what counts in this case.