[Blog Tour] Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend by Louise Rozett (Review: Books 1 & 2 and Giveaway)

Welcome to my stop on the Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours.  Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

Confessions #1

Release Date: 08/28/12 by Harlequin Teen

Paperback/e-book, 288 pages
Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Premise:

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 nowenraged 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 My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time.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.)

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 Review

My thoughts:

Confessions of an Angry Girl is an addictive story and once I started reading it I couldn't put the book down. I think it's because we all secretly -or not that secretly- like the idea of finding out about other's misery so maybe we can say "Ok, my life isn't that bad after all". 

This story follows fourteen-year-old Rose's misery through her freshman year of highschool which is awful. Her dad died in Irak and he wasn't even a soldier and in Rose's opinion he shouldn't even had to been there in the first place, so she's angry. It doesn't help that her brother went to collage leaving her with her mother -who's been acting like a robot since her husband died and only addresses Rose in her patented "terapist" voice. On top of that, Rose's best friend is becoming a self-centered and shallow nightmare who won't talk about anything other than having sex with his boyfriend and joining the cheerleader's squad. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Jamie -the older guy Rose has had a crush on since like forever- is finally talking to her. But even when that might be the only good thing happening in Rose's life, it turns out it isn't that good, because he's taken and his girlfriend is the most evil cherleader ever who's decided to make Rose's life a living hell.

So... I guess we could say Rose is completely allowed to be as angry as she wants, because I would be if I were her. I really felt for her and I think I would've gone crazy if all that crap happened to me all at once. I think her character was welt build and three dimensional, with her ironies and contradictions just like your average teenager. 

I disliked most of the other girls in the story. Tracy, the best friend, was a pain in the butt. I could not stand her and I don't think the relationship between her and Rosie was healthy at all. I wouldn't want a friend like her, I would much rather be alone... The cheerleader squad's girl were mostly awful too... so yeah... no role-models here. 

 

Which I really liked and what kept me glued to the pages were Jamie and Angelo (Jamie's friend). I loved those characters, especially Angelo. I think I secretely ship Angelo and Rosie, they were so much fun when they were together, because Angelo is really funny and that gives a little bit of comic relieve to all the madness that is happening in the story.

The writting was really good, I really enjoyed the fact that every chapter starts with a word and its meaning. I think it was really cool and original. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to feel better about themselves by reading a book that shows you how much worst could it be.

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Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend by Louise Rozett

Confessions #2

Release Date: 06/18/13 by Harlequin Teen

Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Premise:

Rose Zarelli has big plans for sophomore year—everything is going to be different. This year, she’s going to be the talented singer with the killer voice, the fabulous girl with the fashionista best friend, the brainiac who refuses to let Jamie Forta jerk her around...

...but if she’s not careful, she’s also going to be the sister who misses the signals, the daughter who can only think about her own pain, the “good girl” who finds herself in mid-scandal again (because no good deed goes unpunished) and possibly worst of all...the almost-girlfriend.

When all else fails, stop looking for love and go find yourself.

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Review

My thoughts:

Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend was really fun to read. It's so real and awkward that I could really relate thinking of those times in high school when everything went wrong and I'm glad knowing I'm not the only one who had to go through all that. At least there would always be Rose to take awkwardness to a whole other level.

In this sequel we have more of that amazing factor: "Reality". The whole story is so real and Rosie really stole my heart in this one with her amazing voice and her determination to succed even if it didn't work out the way she planned. She's so funny and I think she's smart deep down but OMG! why does she has to put herself in the most awkward situations ever! We have a lot of new school drama and now we also have a brother drama to add to the pile of thing that went horribly wrong in Rose's life.

This time she's done taking bullcrap from Jamie and his mind-games. Or at least she tries. I love the fact that in this book we get to know a little bit more about him and his life because in the first book he was just this mysterious hot guy we didn't know a thing about... 

Also, I really liked Holly -a new character. I think she's really nice and a great addition to all the mean female characters in this book. Tracy and Rosie's relationship is doing better but I still don't like Tracy that much... I also liked the whole new approach to Angelo's character, because I liked him a lot in the first book and in this one he's even more interesting.

This sequel also deals with social issues such as bullying and abuse but this time we have some sort of additional issue which is homosexuality and I really liked how the whole thing was treated in the story, so yey for Rozett!

I really liked the feel that this book left me with... like some sort of panicked-calm (I don't know if that makes any sense). It made me think about how we have to accept that we don't have all the answers but that doesn't mean that we should just give up and stop trying to find them. I strongly recommend this series for anyone who likes YA books with realistic characters and issues, it's just fantastic!

 

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About the author

Louise Rozett is an author, a playwright, and a recovering performer. She made her YA debut with Confessions of an Angry Girl, published by Harlequin Teen. The next book in the series, Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend, is due out June 2013. She lives with her 120-pound Bernese Mountain dog Lester (named after Lester Freamon from THE WIRE, of course) in one of the world's greatest literary meccas, Brooklyn...and also in sunny Los Angeles. (Being bi-coastal is fun!) Visit www.Louiserozett.com for more info.

Website│Blog│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook│Pinterest

Giveaway

One lucky winner will get a signed copy of ANGRY GIRL, a signed copy of ALMOST-GIRLFRIEND, and a $25 iTunes gift card! (US only)

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[Blog Tour] Getting Skinny by Monique Domovitch (Review + Guest Post)

 with CLP Blog Tours

Getting Skinny by Monique Domovitch
A Chef Landry Mystery #1
Published February 4th, 2013 by Carina Press
Women Fiction Contemporary (Chick-Lit)

Premise: 

 

Owning a restaurant is as crazy for Nicky Landry as an alcoholic owning a bar. But despite having to cram herself into a body shaper to look decent in a dress, life is pretty good. She's throwing the party of the year for her graduating doctor boyfriend, Rob, who she's sure is going to propose—until his new girlfriend shows up at the party.
After ordering Rob to get his stuff out of her house and get lost, Nicky finds him faceup with her expensive Chroma knife sticking right out of his cheating heart.
As the prime suspect, Nicky is in hot water. And no matter how hard she tries to clear her name, her problems only mount. She's convinced she can solve the murder—if only she can figure out the identity of the skinny person seen walking away with Rob after the party.
Getting "Skinny" won't be easy for Nicky, but she never imagined it would be life or death…

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Review

My thoughts: 

For over a year now, I've been reading only YA or NA titles, so it's been a while since the last time I read a proper Adult Chick-lit and I was really fearing this moment because I didn't know if I was going to like it or discover that chick-lit is no longer my thing. 

Fortunately I think it's safe to say that Chick-lit is still one of my favorite genres out there and I'm really happy I got to read a fantastic book for this defining moment, because otherwise the outcome might have not been the same.

Getting Skinny is a really fun and intriguing story about a chef who think she has it all. Good friends, a new restaurant, the perfect boyfriend... Until, inconviniently what was supposed to be the best night of her life turns out to be the worst. 

First, her perfect dessert is not going as planned, then she finds out her perfect boyfriend, Rob, is a duch-bag who's been cheating on her with a skinnier, prettier and younger girl and then -as if that wasn't bad enough- she finds her boyfriend's body in her backyard with her favorite knife protruding out of his chest. Just peachy! Now she's the prime suspect of a murder she didn't commit and since the police won't look for the real killer, she will have to do it herself, the problem is... she barely knows anything about this skinny person she saw with Rob that night...

The beginning of the book was a little bit slow, because we have the whole introduction to our heroine's world and the party she's giving to her boyfriend and a few cooking details and things like that. But when I got deeper into the story, I realize it was necessary, because I could understand how Nicky's mind worked thanks to that initial part.

I really enjoyed the mystery aspect in this novel. Going through the suspects and trying to figure out who was "Skinny" was so much fun! I went all Sherlock on every single detail... I won't spoil it for you, but the killer... wow! I didn't see that one coming, even if there are little hints all over... 

I loved Nicky. She's so authentic, with her self-steem issues and her rambling mind. She's adorable and I really felt for her. I also really liked her best-friend Tony, she was awesome and funny and I think she was my favorite character in the whole book.

Also, I really liked the way Rob's character was built. Even when he was dead, we still could find layer after layer of who he really was and that was really interesting. 

To summarize, I really enjoyed this book and I strongly recommend it if you like the genre. This is the first book in a series, so I'm really looking forward to book two!

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Guest Post: Monique Domovitch on Food and Getting Skinny

Dear readers,

What many of you might not know is that I blog about food and cooking on a regular basis, and have for the last four years. If you visit SkinnyRecipes.com—my site—you will find a variety of recipes. Having said that, I should mention that the site has just undergone a major restructuring after I was recently diagnosed with Celiac. Since then, I’ve eliminated the many hundreds of recipes I had previously posted, and I now concentrate strictly on gluten-free cooking. Getting rid of the old site was a difficult decision but in the end I decided I could not post recipes I could test myself.

Like a lot of ex fashion models, I’ve always had a bit of an obsession with staying thin. I’ve been on more diets than anybody has a right to be, and I’ve lost so many pounds (the same ones over and over again) that, even though I don’t have one, I can totally relate with a character with a weight problem. For these reasons, making food an important part of my novel was logical. I also felt that giving a character a few flaw would make her more likable, and would help readers relate to her. And just between you and me, how many girls do you know who are not obsessing about their weight? Not too many, right?

Nicky Landry, the main character, is a young chef with a weight problem. For her, working in a kitchen is as frustrating as an alcoholic working in a bar. But she loves her career and is a master chef. What Nicky decides, half way through the first book is to turn the restaurant, Skinny’s on Queen, into a low-cal restaurant, thus distinguishing her eatery from the thousands of other restaurants in the city.

You will love the added bonus in Getting Skinny. The last pages are devoted to a collection of wonderful low-cal recipes. I worked on these before my gluten-free days, so they are not only delicious, but the ingredients are easy to find and the dishes are easy to make. For those who are interested in the gluten-free version of those recipes, I am gradually adapting them for the Celiac diet and posting then on SkinnyRecipes.com.

So for a read that will keep you turning the pages while you laugh out loud, and then leave you dying to test the recipes, try Getting Skinny. And please let me know what you think. I always love to hear from my readers.

All my best,
Monique Domovitch

About the author

Monique Domovitch lives with her husband and an ever expanding family of dogs. They travel extensively and she is never seen without her laptop. When is not writing or traveling, Monique is an avid baker.

Website | Food Website | Facebook | Linked in | Pinterest | Twitter

 

Check out the rest of the tour for more reviews and amazing content!

HERE

Giveaway 

**Everyone who leaves a comment on Monique’s tour page will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases their copy of Getting Skinny before  July 15 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five bonus entries.**

Love,