Review: Confessions of an Angry Girl ~ Louise Rozett

The fact that I love contemporary romances and high school drama is no big secret.  I just have a shelf in Goodreads named "teen-college-middle-school". :-)  So, when I got this from Harlequin, I totally had those bookish moments where you feel happy no matter what people around you say to you.

Series: Confesssions #1

Author: Louise Rozett

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: August 28th 2012

Source: From the publisher

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit, Young Adult

Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some confessions to make?

1. I'm livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I'm allowed to be irate, don't you?

2. I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who might be dating a cheerleader. She is now enraged and out for blood. Mine.

3. High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and "seeing red" means being angry—get it?)

Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.

(Don't know what they mean? Look them up yourself.)

(Sorry. That was rude.)

REVIEW

Rose is a freshman in Union High.  Is that supposed to be fun?  I guess, but Rose seems to be getting more sad and angry by the end of each day.  Her dad is dead, her brother abandoned her and went to college and never even want to come home for Thanksgiving and her mom separates herself from Rose.  Nothing is ever the same for Rose Zarelli.  When the school seems to be a living hell for Rose, one senior boy, Jamie, who is out of her league, not because he is so bad-ass handsome, but he has a girl friend, is the only thing she likes. 

Well, I love high-school drama and obviously, this book is so full of it.  I loved every moment of it and was in a dilemma whether I should laugh or cry at those moments.  Rose thinks and says some sarcastic things, even in her sad moments and that makes those scenes more lovable.  Rose is just fourteen, and I can understand a kid with all those personal problems battling through them.  This is just not about her dad alone, but also the change in her friends and school..it is a lot to take in, especially for a girl like Rose, who is such an introvert.  And just when things go crazy, her close friend and brother, Peter, had to become a jerk.

Although I am not sure why she treats her friend, Robert (who is so into her) so badly, I just am happy that Robert can move on, instead of forming a love triangle, which is the last thing I need in a book like this with so much drama already into it.  I like the other characters and even the cheer-witches.  They all add the drama in a right blend to the novel.  I enjoyed hating the Regina, the cheerleader and Jamie's girlfriend, who made Rose's life more complicated, because Regina is the major reason Rose learned to stand up on her own shedding her fears. 

At the end, Rose didn't grow up a lot, but definitely I can see through some growth from 14 to 15.  Even though this book is categorized as a chick-lit, it gave a feel of sadness that Rose feels some times.  And I mean that as a compliment to the author.  It's great work from Louise Rozett. 

I loved the way Louise started every chapter in the novel..with a complex word, that defines the chapter.  When I near the end of every chapter, I am excited to learn another new word and also excited to read what it means with respect to the novel.

Definitely recommended for chick-lit and high school drama lovers!

SERIES ORDER

1.  Confessions of an Angry Girl - Amazon | Goodreads

2.  Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend - Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Between Boyfriends

Original Title: Between Boyfriends
Series: Boyfriends #1
Author: Sarka-Jonae Miller
Release Date: September 20th 2011
Source: From "ATG PUBLICITY" blog tour
Genre: Chick-lit

Buy @ Amazon

Check out BETWEEN BOYFRIENDS in the upcoming November Issue of HOLLYWOOD & VINE magazine

Jan Weston is boy crazy, emphasis on crazy, but when "the one" breaks her heart she vows to change. Jan quits dating and takes a hard look at herself, discovering that she does not like the flawed, spoiled individual she sees in the mirror.

Her progress toward positive change is derailed when her mother discovers she dropped out of San Diego State University to attend massage therapy school. Furious at being lied to, Mrs. Weston cuts Jan off. Now Jan is without a guy, her American Express card, and a way to pay for school. She has to do something so despicable, so vile, so cruel, she almost cannot imagine it: Jan has to get a job.

But maybe that is exactly what she needs? Jan is forced to change how she treats people and to reconsider her values. Through a "comedy of errors" and with the support of her real friends (plus the hottie from massage school) Jan is able to survive, barely. But can she really change or is she just between boyfriends?

REVIEW

Jan is a rich and spoiled girl, who quits her college to join massage school (without her mother's knowledge).  She just got dumped by her boyfriend -- again.  Tired of the opposite gender, Jan decides not to date again - ever.  To a girl who has always had boyfriends, this is going to be a big feat.  Her mother who has been paying her bills so far, disowns her, as soon as she knows that Jan had dropped out of college.  Financially helpless, for the first time in her life, Jan has to worry about money, paying bills and rents.  Money and boyfriends define Jan.  What is Jan going to do without both of them?  Or is there much more to Jan than these two?

This chick-lit novel surprised me.  Although started slow at first, the novel picked up speed soon.  Jan's character is someone who you can relate to, partially.  Her friends, Lisa, Nichole and Becki's characters were all brought out very well, that I enjoyed their roles in Jan's life, much than Jan's life itself.

The snarky dialogues made me laugh and that's what I love in a chick-lit and it was delivered perfectly.  The characters are well formed.  Jan's changes in attitude and life through a comedy of errors is well thought out and also delivered in a humourous way.  Here is a heroine you won't like, but would appreciate to know the story of.  Interesting read!

There are typo issues in the novel - which at times affect the mood of the story.

A coming of age novel narrated with humor!  Recommended for lovers of chick-lit novels.

Favorite Quotes from "Between Boyfriends"

She was a die-hard health nut and a part-time vegetarian who exercised regularly, ate fruits and vegetable regularly, and unintentionally made everyone else feel like pigs - regularly.

She particularly did not like being told she was overreacting when she knew she was overreacting.