Gabriella M Reads

Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes 5 Stars Oh man, Girl Against the Universe was one of my most anticipated reads for 2016 and I was thrilled when I got my hands on it early. It's about a girl who thinks she's bad luck and tries her hardest to prevent anyone from ever being hurt, even if it means not leaving her house. First, I really love how this is set up. We have chapters where our main character is in therapy and also when she's out doing her thing. I can't imagine what this book would be like without these sessions and I'm so glad that they're included as they provide some pretty great insight into our character. Maguire may feel like bad luck and try to isolate herself on behalf of others, but man you kind of feel it too. Paula writes in a way that makes you really empathize with Maguire and everything she is going through internally. It's so wonderful and I definitely cried a few times. (Damn you, Paula.) Now our other main char...

Autofocus by Lauren Gibaldi 5 Stars Lauren has done it again! I swear she never lets me down. Autofocus is about a teenage girl named Maude who receives a photography assignment about family and feels compelled to learn about the woman who gave birth to her. In order to do this Maude takes a trip to see her best friend, Treena, who happens to go to college in the same town where Maude's birth mother grew up. Adventure ensues. I really loved the characters that Gibadli created. Maude seems so sure of herself until the moment she doesn't and that felt really real to me. Although my favorite character by far would have to be Bennett. He swoops in like some nerdy knight in shining armor without really meaning to and it's absolutely adorable. What I love about the way these characters are written is that I felt a lot of the things Maude was feeling as I read along, mainly towards the T's. You'll see. What makes this journey so great is just that, it's ...

What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler 5 Stars What We Saw was the Better Read Than Dead Book Club pick for March and an important one at that. For those of you who don't know, What We Saw was inspired by the very real events of the Steubenville Rape Case . So there is definitely a trigger warning for rape attached to this one. Nothing is exactly as it appears. The closer you look, the more you see. That quote definitely holds true throughout the novel. Along with our main character, Kate, you never really know anything despite having suspicions. Man, did I have my suspicions. I applaud Kate for wanting answers instead of going along with the flow. While reading you'll see a lot of tweets and news reports that I found to be quite supplemental to the story. One hashtag drove me nuts, #r&p, was placed in so many parts and I needed to know what it meant. I'll let you figure that one out for yourself though. The amount of sheer disbelief and victim blaming was insa...

Emerge by Tobie Easton 5 Stars When I heard about this book, I was so excited! I'm always looking for a good mermaid read. I ended up being lucky enough to receive an e-ARC from the publisher and man, am I thankful! Going in I kind of thought Emerge was going to be a light fluffy romance, but I was wrong. There is indeed a romance, but this story has a dark tone as well. Let's discuss the characters. I quite enjoy our main character Lia and her inner struggles. She breaks rules, but only when her intentions are good. I just loved seeing her internal fight. Lia's sisters and her cousin are also pretty entertaining. However, two of my favorite characters are Clay and Caspian. Clay is human and pretty dang adorable, I am a sucker for a flirty, green eyed man. I found myself falling for him as the story went on. Caspian on the other hand, is mer. Mer is a term you'll see fairly often as a term for the mermaid race. Caspian is intelligent, sweet, and very kind. He...