Audio. Starry Eyes - Jenn Bennett

Ever since last year's homecoming dance, best friends-turned-best enemies Zorie and Lennon have made an art of avoiding each other. It doesn't hurt that their families are the modern day, Californian version of the Montagues and Capulets. But when a group camping trip goes south, Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone. Together. What could go wrong? With no one but each other for company, Zorie and Lennon have no choice but to hash out their issues via witty jabs and insults as they try to make their way to safety. But fighting each other while also fighting off the forces of nature makes getting out of the woods in one piece less and less likely. And as the two travel deeper into Northern California's rugged backcountry, secrets and hidden feelings surface. But can Zorie and Lennon's rekindled connection survive out in the real world? Or was it just a result of the fresh forest air and the magic of the twinkling stars? 

Audio CD, 11 h 23 min
Published April 3rd 2018 by Tantor Audio
YA Fiction
For review

My thoughts:

This really was how a YA book should be. I am impressed.

Zorie loves astronomy. I liked that. She was normal you know. She has parents that are around in the book, a lot even, I know right. Though her taste in boys and friends, ehh, could be better.

Lennon, whose name I kept hearing as Lenin and I went all what the?! A reptile loving manga reading neighbor. And Zorie's former best friend.

Reagan (did not like her), Summer ditsy, Brett (get better taste in boys Zori!).

They are all together on a glamping trip and then on a real camping trip. And Lennon made it sound so wonderful! I would love to go hiking there. Or maybe not when I think of bears, snakes and cougars. I also loved how the book took place in a national park. It was different and great.

Also, they actually talk things out before the end! Yes! I hate when things gets dragged out and I just want to shout talk! And they talk. Why their friendship went wrong, among other things.

I really can not do it justice. This was a great book. I truly enjoyed it.

Narrator Amy Melissa Bentley

Oh she is one of my favorite narrators! I love her YA voices. I'd choose a book just cos of her.

Alex, approximately - Jenn Bennett

Classic movie buff Bailey "Mink" Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online by "Alex." Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush. Faced with doubts (what if he's a creep in real life-or worse?), Bailey doesn't tell Alex she's moved to his hometown. Or that she's landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she's being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth-a.k.a. her new arch-nemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever-it-is she's starting to feel for Porter . . . And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex . . . Approximately. 

My thoughts:
Since they love movies and all I guess this is like you got mail :) Of course Bailey would go by the older version of the movie.

Bailey has a crush on this guy she knows online. They are perfect for each other and love movies the both of them...but, she never told him she moved to his town. She wants to find him and then tell him. But how to find him? She does have some issues and is afraid to open up. And the more I get to know her, the more I know she would fun to hang out with.

Porter is everything she does not want. Surferboy, annoying and hidden dephts? Things are not always like the seem. And yes I liked Porter, but I did not like when he donned his surfer boy persona. But he does say he has many faces.

They hate each other, nah, she dislikes him, he fancies her. They grow closer and closer. And I have been way out of the loop when it comes to YA books because ...oh, I can not say spoilers.

But the reader knows that Porter is the guy she has been talking to online and we all know a big drama or mess is heading their way. I mean hello it is so obvious, get a clue girl!

Conclusion
A good ya fiction book. I felt it dealt with real things and real feelings. No angst or silly drama

Narration by Melissa Bentley
She did a great job. LOL, even when she faked talking to a sneeze it fit so well. I liked her voice for this

Cover
I think she sat by the pool once. So no I do not feel it fits.

Audio CD, 10 h
Published August 15th 2017 by Tantor Audio (first published April 4th 2017)
Contemporary YA
For review

Review: Kindling the Moon - Jenn Bennett

Meet Arcadia Bell: bartender, renegade magician, fugitive from the law. . . . 

Being the spawn of two infamous occultists (and alleged murderers) isn’t easy, but freewheeling magician Arcadia “Cady” Bell knows how to make the best of a crummy situation. After hiding out for seven years, she’s carved an incognito niche for herself slinging drinks at the demon-friendly Tambuku Tiki Lounge.

But she receives an ultimatum when unexpected surveillance footage of her notorious parents surfaces: either prove their innocence or surrender herself. Unfortunately, the only witness to the crimes was an elusive Æthyric demon, and Cady has no idea how to find it. She teams up with Lon Butler, an enigmatic demonologist with a special talent for sexual spells and an arcane library of priceless stolen grimoires. Their research soon escalates into a storm of conflict involving missing police evidence, the decadent Hellfire Club, a ruthless bounty hunter, and a powerful occult society that operates way outside the law. If Cady can’t clear her family name soon, she’ll be forced to sacrifice her own life . . . and no amount of running will save her this time.

Series: Arcadia Bell #1, Genre: Urban fantasy, Pages: 358, Published: 2011 by Pocket, Source: My own

My thoughts:

I saw what people on my friend's list on GR thought and there were 4 and 5s all around. I did like the book, but I just did not fall for it as much as I wanted. I think I was caught up in the hype again and felt a bit let down.

Arcadia was cool, she is a wizard, she owns a bar, her parents are serial killers..wait what? Yes they were framed and she is hiding. The world she lived on was cool. No one knows about magic except those working with it, the demons you can conjure up and Earthbounds. Now these I liked. Demons put in human form, they mated and tadaa, lots of offspring 400 years later.

The love interest that shows up is Lon Butler (one of those with demon genes, oh yes). They have a few issues at start but we all know they will end up falling. Even if he is 40, so old ;)

The book was good, I liked it. But I fear there is a ghost over this review, the ghost of wanting to like it more. And expectations that did not turn out are just the worst. 

Conclusion:

What saves it for me is in the end her past and future. There is something about her. And I am curious.

Cover: I would prefer to see her head